


Serenity

by JolinarJackson



Series: Can't Take The Sky [1]
Category: Firefly, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Implied/Referenced Cannibalism, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Kidnapping, Language, Tony Stark/Pepper Potts (pre-ship)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:26:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27541540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JolinarJackson/pseuds/JolinarJackson
Summary: In the distant future, humankind has spread its territory throughout the galaxy, inhabiting several terraformed planets and moons. The only thing tying them all together are cargo spaceships, carrying supplies along intergalactic routes. One of those ships is commandeered by Tony Stark, who finds himself more often than not accepting jobs of the not-so-legal sort to feed himself and his small crew while trying to stay off the radar of the legal enforcement agency SHIELD.However, when they decide to pick up passengers to make ends meet, the crew quickly finds what was supposed to be a quiet journey turning into a run for their lives, as they find out that one of their passengers is harboring a secret SHIELD desperately wants to get their hands on.
Relationships: Ben Parker & Peter Parker, Pepper Potts & Shuri, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Shuri & Tony Stark
Series: Can't Take The Sky [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2013127
Comments: 70
Kudos: 63





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: This is the Firefly!AU nobody asked for and you’re getting anyway. :) I had so much fun writing this first part (which is the first episode of the show) and I will definitely continue if you guys like reading it. Full disclosure: IronDad is endgame, but it's very slow-burn in this series, it barely factors into this first part. But it will come, trust me. This part is more for the general set-up and to get to know the characters a little.  
> This AU version of Firefly is based on the plot of the show, but I added some twists and changes that are not part of the original creation. While the characters are also loosely based on those on the show, I changed them up a bit as well. Not just to keep it interesting for those people who know the show but also because I wanted to stay as close as possible to the MCU characterisations.  
> Beta: tjc2009-2018 and mogoona3000 were so kind to read this story over in record time! I also want to thank shoyzz-art, who again was the perfect chat partner for rants and ideas and blondsak who helped me with the summary.

**Prologue**

Space was peaceful.

Or at least, it seemed that way to the untrained eye. Tony Stark, however, was aware of the various dangers that were waiting for him among the stars; SHIELD, the Reavers, ships steered by not-so-lawful folks, just like him and his crew. That didn’t change his love for space, though, and whenever he got the chance to go on a space-walk, like now, he took a moment to appreciate the calm and quiet and serenity surrounding him out here; the far-away stars dotting the black, the nearby moon looming close enough that he could just make out the craters dotted over its surface and, of course, his ship.

The _Serenity_ wasn’t a big cargo ship by any means, practically dwarfed by the huge barges SHIELD used for their transports. She was a Firefly class ship, her design loosely based on the insects humans had brought to the border planets. She had a narrow snout where the bridge was located, which jutted out from the more cylindrical rest of the ship. The engine at the back of _Serenity_ was idling right now, emitting a gentle yellow flare.

Tony smiled. She wasn’t the most modern ship and she had a scrape here or there, but she was his, as was the small crew on-board. Tony didn’t need more than that.

“Tony, stop stargazing, we got a job to do.”

Well, except for money.

He pulled his eyes away from _Serenity_ and turned towards Nat, who had apparently already taken a look into the wreck they were both clinging to, aimlessly floating in space. According to the information they had, the ship had been a passenger transport bound for a newly terraformed world at the border of humankind’s territory … and judging by the rather big hole in its hull, it had been struck by a stray asteroid or a big piece of space junk.

Nobody had survived the crash, but Tony and his crew happened to know that the ship had been carrying precious cargo and their client was very interested in obtaining it. Doing so wasn’t exactly legal; the ship belonged to the government and so did the things onboard. But Tony didn’t care much for the Union of Allied Planets, so he was fine with ignoring that fact.

Nat moved her eyes towards the hole in the wreck’s hull and vanished back inside.

Tony sighed, his breath fogging up the visor of his space suit for a moment, before he followed her.

It was dark inside the wreck, the only light coming from the lamps installed on their helmets. The hole had been torn into what had once been a dining hall. The empty tables, shelves and counters were silent witnesses to what had happened. Since they were bolted to the floor and walls, they hadn’t been sucked out into space through the hole in the hull along with the chairs, utensils and equipment … and the bodies. Tony pressed his lips together when he thought about the people who had come aboard to start a new life and were now lost in the black. The bitter truth was that nobody would try to retrieve them. Folks sent to newly terraformed worlds oftentimes had nowhere else to go and nobody to pay for their funeral.

He found Nat inspecting a door at the back of the room and joined her.

She glanced at him, the light of Tony’s lamp reflecting off her helmet’s visor and catching in her blue eyes. “It’s sealed.”

“Okay,” Tony answered. “I'm gonna boil it.” He unclasped the applicator from his belt and held the nozzle against the edge of the door, gently pressing the trigger. The clear gel being ejected from the applicator stuck to the metal and Tony moved to draw a neat outline around the door. By the time he was finished, part of the gel had already started to eat through the metal.

Tony looked at Nat. “We get the goods, we're off this wreck and back on the ship.”

Nat gave him a thumbs-up.

***

Steve Rogers kept one eye on _Serenity_ ’s screens and sensors, not wanting to miss a potential proximity alarm, and the other on the stretch of space he could see through the cockpit’s window. Sometimes, he was able to make out an approaching ship even before the alerts started to go off. _Serenity_ wasn’t a young or modern ship by any means and some of her sensors didn’t reach as far as he would like them to. With Tony and Nat inside the wreck floating underneath them and therefore in a vulnerable position, he wouldn’t take any chances.

Other crew members apparently weren’t concerned as much.

“Everything looks good from here,” Clint said in a deep voice from his perch on the co-pilot’s chair, moving the toy stegosaurus in his hand as if it was looking around _Serenity’s_ cockpit searchingly. “Yes. Yes, this is a fertile land, and we will thrive.”

Steve rolled his eyes. The dinosaurs had been a gift from Nat, something she’d picked up at a marketplace on their last stop, just because Clint had mentioned once that he used to play with toy dinosaurs when he was little. Clint had been overjoyed.

Apparently, Steve had to suffer for it.

Clint continued to move the stegosaurus around, turning it towards the T-Rex in his other hand. “We will rule over all this land, and we will call it … _This Land_.” He suddenly moved the T-Rex around as he made his voice gravellier and louder. “I think we should call it _your grave_!”

Steve let out a long-suffering sigh, adjusting _Serenity’s_ position a little to float closer to the wreckage.

Clint moved the stegosaurus to stand on its hind legs, exclaiming, “Ah! Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!” He changed back to the T-Rex’s voice, laughing loudly. “Mine is an evil laugh! Now die!”

“Would you stop?” Steve snapped.

Before Clint could utter an offended answer, one of the sensors beeped and they both switched their attention to the radar screen. Steve swept the three dinosaurs aside that were perched on the screen from a previous scene Clint had been acting out, staring at a red blip that had appeared in the upper right corner, getting closer to their position. Clint had moved to look over Steve’s shoulder and cursed.

***

Tony ducked when a piece of metal came loose from the door and almost hit his helmet.

Nat smiled at him. “Full pressure. The goods must be intact.”

Tony peeked through the hole that had formed and, in the light of his helmet, saw several crates sitting in the room. “Okay. Looking good.”

Steve’s voice coming through the comm link startled him enough that he jumped.

_“Tony, we’ve got incoming!”_

Nat whipped her head around to him, having heard the news as well, her eyes wide.

_“SHIELD cruiser,”_ Steve added, _“bearing right down on us!”_

_“Ta ma de 1,”_ Tony muttered. “Have they spotted us?”

_“I can't tell if-“_

“Have they _hailed_ us?”

Nat hissed a curse. “If they're here for the salvage, we're humped.”

Tony looked at her. “If they find us _at all_ , we're humped.” He assessed the situation, knowing that Steve was doing the same, had probably come to the same conclusion … and was hesitant. But Tony knew there was no way Nat and him would make it back to _Serenity_ in time, there was no way out … he made a split-second decision. “Steve, shut it down. Everything but the air.”

***

Steve flipped switches in rapid succession. “Shutting down.” Clint stepped out of his way as he leaned to the far side of the controls to shut off the lights, then Steve hit the button for the intercom. “Shuri, go to black out! We're being buzzed!”

Their mechanic’s breathless voice confirmed, _“Shi,”_ and the engine powered down just a moment later. She said, _“Going dark.”_

Then Steve saw it floating into sight; a SHIELD cruiser, sleek like a shark, painted white, the SHIELD insignia – an eagle with spread wings – a huge black shadow on the cruiser’s flank, which was lit up by hundreds of windows. Cruisers could hold up to 5000 people and were equipped for long journeys. SHIELD mainly used them to patrol the borders. It was rare to see one of them crossing through the center of the human territory like this. They were probably on their way back home to one of the core planets.

Steve and Clint stared out the cockpit window, not daring to move. The sensors on these kinds of ships were incredibly sensitive.

Tony’s voice whispered through the comms, _“Steve, are they slowing down?”_

Steve waited a moment longer, watching the underbelly of the cruiser as it passed over them. He took a breath and shook his head. “That's a neg. Don't think they're interested in us.” He swallowed as the cruiser passed overhead, banning _Serenity_ and the wreckage into its shadow.

It passed, slowly floating into the distance.

Steve was just willing to breathe a sigh of relief when an alarm sounded. His eyes flew to the corresponding screen. “Tony, they’re scanning us.”

Clint cursed. “We’re humped.”

_“Prep the ship_ now _,”_ Tony’s determined voice carried through the comms. _“We move these in double-time.”_

Steve pressed the intercom button. “Shuri, fire it up.”

The engine rumbled to life just a moment later. Steve refrained from hitting the lights, exchanging a worried glance with Clint when he saw Tony and Nat emerge from the wreckage, each of them dragging one crate and using the tether line to pull themselves back up to _Serenity_ ’s airlock. It was a stupidly brave move, typical Tony, and Nat was just as stupidly brave to go along with it. Steve really hoped that the goods were worth this. His eyes widened when several new red blips appeared on the radar.

“Gunships,” Clint breathed. “They’re coming for us.”

Tony cursed, apparently having noticed them as well. _“Steve,”_ he said, _“cry, baby, cry.”_

Steve nodded, his fingers flying over the controls. “Make your mother sigh. Engaging the crybaby.” He flipped a switch.

Somewhere behind the little moon close-by, their pre-planted distress signal unit, floating in space, started to send out a signal that would undoubtedly be picked up by the cruiser. Tony had rigged the signal so that it appeared to come from a SHIELD passenger transport running out of air. The kind of signal that a SHIELD cruiser couldn’t ignore without consequences.

The gunships were drawing closer, undoubtedly ready to fire, just when Tony and Nat reached the airlock. Steve watched the controls, ensuring that the airlock was fully closed before he started their escape, sending _Serenity_ full speed away from the cruiser and approaching gunships.

He knew it would take ages for the cruiser to turn and follow them, and they would want to prioritize checking out the distress signal. As for the gunships, they were no match for _Serenity’s_ speed and not built to stray far from their assigned cruiser.

And, indeed, it didn’t take the gunships long before they gave up the chase, falling back to return to the cruiser.

Steve breathed a sigh of relief as Tony stumbled onto the bridge, still wearing the space suit, though he had taken off the helmet. His dark hair was disheveled and his face tense. “How are we doing?”

Steve nodded with a smile. “We look shiny. They are not following us.”

Nat’s voice sounded from behind him. “Close one.”

Clint crossed his arms. “As long as we got the goods, let’s call it a win.”

“Right,” Tony answered, his eyes looking out the window solemnly. Steve knew that encounters with SHIELD tended to bring up memories for Tony, as they did for Steve himself. He gave Tony an encouraging smile when he looked down at him and Tony seemed to shake off his memories, clearing his throat. “We win.”

**Chapter 1**

The black crates they had retrieved from the wreck were sealed shut and protected with number locks, so Clint used the crowbar to pry one of them open carefully. The lid clattered to the metal grating floor of the cargo bay soon after, the sound echoing through the large empty space, and they all crowded closer to look inside. Foodstuff bars were neatly arranged inside, the silvery foil they were wrapped in shining under the lights of the cargo bay.

Tony smiled. “Well,” he said, “that’s a sight for sore eyes.” Only one of those bars, he knew, could feed _Serenity_ ’s crew for half a year if they made it stretch. SHIELD’s foodstuff was highly sought after on the black market, because it lasted the longest, had the best ingredients and couldn’t be bought. At least not officially.

Shuri grinned widely, crouching down next to the crate and wiping her grease-stained hands on the leg of her green overalls. “They're pretty.”

Clint nodded, his thumbs hooked into the back pockets of his cargo pants. “I'd say worth a little risk.”

Nat frowned at him. “Yeah, that was some pretty risky waiting for us to come back you did there.”

Clint gaped at her. “That's unfair. You know I’m wounded.” He pointed to his side. “I was shot last week.”

“You shot yourself,” she answered with a raised eyebrow.

“That gun was complicated! How was I supposed to know that the safety was off?”

“Bizui2,” Tony interrupted them, leaning down to take one of the bars and peeling back the foil.

Shuri looked at him curiously. “Problem, Tony?”

Tony’s thumb brushed over the small SHIELD insignia cut into the upper right corner of the bar. He had already suspected that the bars would be marked, which made them easy to recognize as SHIELD’s, and by extension the government’s, property. He pressed his lips together. It would be much harder to sell these to their client if they were marked. The King was iffy about that kind of stuff, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to easily resell the bars. He sighed and carefully rewrapped the foodstuff, setting it back into its place in the crate. There was no reason to tell the crew just yet. He didn’t want them to worry. If they got lucky, the King wouldn’t check his purchase too thoroughly. “Nothing.”

Shuri was frowning at him, her dark eyes scanning his face carefully. That girl was scarily good at telling when he was lying or glossing over something. Tony quickly turned away from her and towards Steve, who was standing off to the side with his arms crossed over his muscular chest. “We should get rid of these before we run into another SHIELD patrol.”

Steve nodded. “What were they even doing this far out?”

Shuri scoffed. “Shining the light of civilization.”

Clint frowned, swinging the crowbar to rest on one of his shoulders. “Doesn't do us any good.”

“Well,” Shuri answered with a shrug, “we're uncivilized.”

Tony hummed thoughtfully. “How long 'til we reach Persephone?”

Steve shrugged. “Three or four hours.”

“Can we shave that?”

Steve shook his head. “We're down to the wire on fuel cells. If we run too hot, we might not even make it.”

Tony winced, but gave a nod. “Okay. Play it as close as you can. These goods are burning a hole in my hull.”

Nat looked at him with narrowed eyes, picking up on his concern. “Do you think that cruiser could've I.D.'d us?”

Tony shrugged. “Let's hope not. Steve, contact the King, tell him the job's done. Don't mention the cruiser, though. Keep it simple.”

Steve stared at him, a deep frown on his face, his blue eyes narrowed, and Tony hated that he knew him so well. “Tony, are we sure there's nothing wrong with the cargo?”

“It's fine. I just wanna get paid.” He turned to head up the stairs towards the upper walkway, his boots loud against the metal grating of the steps, calling back over his shoulder, “Let's get these crates stowed. I don't want any tourists stumbling over them.”

Another set of booted feet followed him up the stairs and he smiled when Shuri delightedly asked, “We're taking on passengers at Persephone?”

He stopped to smile at her. “Yeah, that's the plan. We could use a little respectability on the way to Boros. Not to mention the money.”

He could practically _hear_ Clint roll his eyes. “Pain in the ass.”

“No, it's shiny!” Shuri said happily, grinning wildly. “I like to meet new people. They've all got stories.”

Clint grumbled, “Tony, can you stop her from being cheerful, please?” but they all knew he didn’t mean it.

Shuri was the youngest crew member and also the most optimistic. She was always able to lift their spirits and they all felt a protective instinct towards her.

Tony winked at him. “I don't believe there is a power in the 'verse that can stop Shuri from being cheerful.” He grinned at her. “Sometimes you just wanna duct tape her mouth and dump her in the hold for a month.”

“Aw,” Shuri answered, leaning in to press a kiss against his cheek. “I love my captain.”

***

Steve was staring out the cockpit window thoughtfully, half his attention on flying, the other on the memory of Tony’s face while they’d unpacked the foodstuff. He couldn’t shake off the thought that something wasn’t quite right with the goods. It was typical of Tony to try and keep morale up, but Steve felt as if he wasn’t quite sure they could sell the foodstuff to the King as planned.

“You okay?” Nat asked, interrupting his thoughts as she entered. She’d changed into a white tank top and a pair of old black jeans that were tucked into her boots, her red hair neatly braided and still a bit wet from a shower. Despite the casual look, she still had her handgun strapped around her waist, though, never quite off-duty. She sank into the co-pilot seat and swung her feet up to rest on the edge of the control panel.

Steve bit back a reprimand, instead answering, “I know something isn’t right.”

Nat quirked a smile. “We're crooks. If everything was right, we'd be in jail.”

Steve shook his head. “It's just that Tony’s so tense.”

“The man needs a break,” Nat answered, picking up one of the toy dinosaurs Clint had left behind. “In fact, we could all use a couple days' leave.”

“We still gotta drop the goods.”

Nat shrugged. “And when we do, we fly off to Boros rich and prosperous.” She grimaced. “Well, less poor. But with enough to find some sweet little getaway.” She sighed deeply and closed her eyes, a smile settling on her pretty face. “I wouldn't mind a real bath.”

“Yeah,” Steve said, “and a meal that included some sort of food.”

Nat moaned. “ _Actual_ fruit. Maybe we’ll be able to afford a crate of apples.”

“That sounds nice,” Steve answered. Apples, like most other fruit, were rare and, thus, incredibly expensive.

“Just a couple of days lying around. Maybe finding someone to spend the night with.”

“If Tony says it's all right,” Steve allowed.

Nat’s smile dropped and she released a frustrated huff of breath. “What if we just _told_ Tony we needed a few days instead of asking him?”

“He's the captain, Nat.”

She rolled her eyes. “So he gets to call all the shots?”

“In fact,” Tony said from the door, “I _do_. It’s my ship and I pay your wages.” He had adopted a more casual look as well, his braces hanging loosely around his hips. He looked at Steve, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants. “Has the Ambassador checked in yet?”

Steve hummed a negative. “I think she had a pretty full docket.”

“Well, let her know we may be leaving Persephone in a hurry.”

Nat shrugged. “Pepper knows our timetable. I'm sure she'll be checking in soon.”

“ _You’re_ allowed to call her Pepper now as well?” Tony asked, slightly offended. “Pretty soon, everybody on this ship will be allowed to do that but me.”

“She has her reasons,” Nat answered. “One of them being you calling her ‘Ambassador’.”

Steve interrupted the budding argument by saying, “I can tell her to cut it short, meet us at the docks.”

Tony shook his head. “No, no. Don't want to get in her way if we don't have to.” He turned to leave, adding, “Somebody on this boat has to make an honest living.”

***

Jake was barely twenty-three, but he was more of a gentleman than many of Pepper’s older clients. He was also awkwardly shy, especially when he confessed to her that this would be his first time with a woman.

The afternoon he got to spend with her had been paid by his father and while they talked over tea to get to know each other a little better, Pepper got the feeling that Jake felt suppressed by him quite a lot. He wasn’t the first young client who lost his virginity to her on behalf of his parents, though.

Now, she smiled at him, brushing a strand of sweaty dark hair out of his forehead. Then she reached for the two glasses of water she had set on the bedside table before his arrival. As she handed him one, she picked their conversation up where it had stopped before they’d fallen into bed together. “Sihnon isn't that different from this planet. More crowded, obviously, and I guess more complicated. The great city itself is ...” She hesitated, her mind’s eye supplying her with the beautiful city she had grown up in. Modern, sleek, sophisticated. “Pictures can't capture it. It's like an ocean of light.”

Jake looked at her, his blue eyes wide with curiosity. “Is that where you studied? To be a Companion?”

“I was born there.”

Jake shook his head, averting his eyes. “I can't imagine ever leaving Persephone.”

Pepper smiled sadly. “Well, I wanted to see the universe.” Which was only half the truth, but Jake didn’t need to know that.

He nodded in understanding, his eyes straying to the hourglass showing that their time together was almost over. “Do you really have to leave? I mean ... I …” He swallowed. “My father is very influential, we could ... I could arrange for you to be ...”

Pepper smiled at him gently, leaning in to kiss his forehead. She didn’t answer.

“The experience has been more than …” He cleared his throat. “It was very good. Thank you.”

Pepper got up from the bed and slipped into a heavy silk robe colored a deep red that had stitching of golden roses on it. As she tightened the belt, she turned back around to Jake who was getting dressed as well. “The time went too quickly.”

Jake quirked a sad smile. “Your clock's probably rigged to speed up and cheat us out of our fun.”

The words hurt and for a second, Pepper couldn’t quite hide it.

Jake seemed to notice because he ducked his head quickly, embarrassed. He stepped closer to her and took her hand. “Thank you, Virginia.”

She nodded and watched him leave.

When the door fell shut, Pepper cleared her throat and crossed her arms. She took a few minutes to clean up, moving used glasses and cups together into one corner to be taken to the kitchen later for cleaning. Then she pulled aside the tapestry that hid the door to the cockpit of her small shuttle and settled into the pilot seat. While the engine hummed to life, she hailed Steve. “ _Serenity_ , this is Shuttle One, what's your ETA?”

Steve’s voice answered, _“Pepper, hey! We're touching down at the Eavesdown docks in about ten minutes.”_

“I'll join you there, thanks.”

There was a pause, then Steve added, _“Looking forward to it. We missed you out here.”_

Pepper smiled. “Yeah,” she said. “Me too.” She took the controls and carefully made her way out of the landing dock of the skyscraper in which Jake and his family owned three floors. Threading into the heavy air traffic surrounding the skyline of Persephone City, she made her way home.

***

Tony shrugged into his brown coat and took a deep breath of air as the cargo ramp at the back of _Serenity_ opened and lowered. The air was hot and filled with dust, the spicy smell of food and the sharp stench of running engines, the sounds of cargo and passenger ships landing and taking off as well as the huge crowd that moved down the dusty pathways. Food vendors were trying to get the attention of possible customers, ships were displaying the goods they’d hauled from all over the ‘verse, some people were dragging their luggage along looking for passage or work, prostitutes were looking for clients, crews were making their way to the pubs and shops at the periphery of the docks. The run-down buildings and dirt roads of the docks and the adjacent village were in crass contrast to the gleaming skyline of Persephone City that towered in the distance, where sleek skyscrapers and bold architecture reigned. Shuttles were making their way from there towards the docks in a steady stream, most of them passing by while some landed to let passengers off and take new ones on. Tony kept his eyes on the arriving shuttles for a moment, trying to see whether Pepper’s was one of them, but with the air traffic being as it was at this time of the day, she would probably need a bit more time.

Shuri stopped next to him and Tony said, “This shouldn't take long. Put us down for departure in about three hours.”

Shuri nodded and moved to the terminal they’d parked next to to enter their arrival and departure time and pay the fee.

Tony turned to Steve. “Grab any supplies we're low on. Fuel her up.”

Shuri said, “I'd sure love to find a brand-new compression coil for the steamer.”

Tony shook his head. “And I'd like to be king of all Londinium and wear a shiny hat. Just get us some passengers. Ones that can pay, all right?”

Shuri’s expression shifted into a pout. “If the compression coil busts, we're drifting …”

“I know, I’m a mechanic as well, alright? We can’t afford it, so best not bust it.”

Shuri rolled her eyes.

Steve was driving the mule down the ramp to head for the supply shops. He’d emptied the bed of the small roofless vehicle and had strapped additional empty boxes to the two seats on the back bench to be able to transport as much as possible. He nodded at Tony as he passed and carefully made his way across the walkway and into the line of cargo and passenger transporters crawling through the docks. Shuri was unfolding a chair and settling into it in the shadow of the ship, opening a brightly colored parasol as additional protection from the sun while she looked for potential passengers.

Tony heard Clint and Nat walk down the ramp behind him and turned towards them. Nat was wearing a tight, black leather vest as additional protection, her handgun resting in the belt she’d slung around her hips. Tony saw the hilt of a knife protruding from her boot. Clint had changed into a faded t-shirt and an old denim jacket. He was also armed, forgoing his sniper rifle for a handgun strapped to his thigh. The guns were government-issued and modern, very different from the old-fashioned six shooters Tony and Steve preferred.

Tony brushed his hand along his hip, making sure he had his six shooter with him before he said, “Right. Let’s go see the King.”

***

It was only slightly cooler between the buildings surrounding the dock. The area was poor, the houses run-down. The King’s business was located in a low building that was accessed via a narrow alley. A man stood guard at the door, but he’d seen Tony and his crew before and let them through without a hassle.

It was cool inside, the thick stone the house was made off keeping the burning heat out. The windows were covered by light strips of cloth that moved in the breeze and kept curious eyes out.

The King was sitting at a large, dark wooden desk in his office towards the back. Despite the heat, he was wearing a three-piece suit that had seen better days, the green button-up a splotch of color underneath the black jacket. His dark, shoulder-length hair was slicked out of his face, his blue eyes only shifting to Tony and the others for a second when they entered. Then they moved back towards the young woman that was standing in front of him, the heavy hand of one of his men on her thin shoulder. She couldn’t be older than twenty. “Let me see your teeth,” he said slowly.

She gave him a pained smile.

He reached out to pull her lip up a little, looking closer. Then he nodded. “Yes.”

The man holding her shoulder led her behind a curtain into an adjacent room.

The King turned his attention back to Tony. “You're late.”

“You're lying,” Tony answered, stepping inside the room a little further.

The King’s blue eyes narrowed. “What did you just say to me?”

“You're well aware we landed two hours before we planned to, with all the goods you sent us after intact, ready to roll. So, your decision to get grumpy, say we're late, means you're looking to put us on the defensive right up front. Which means something's gone wrong.”

The King’s head tilted to the side.

Tony shrugged. “It didn't go wrong on our end, so why don't we start again with you telling us what's up … _Loki_?”

Loki’s expression shifted into a smile, trying to hide the way his given name irked him. “You're later than I'd like.”

“Well, I am sorry to hear that,” Tony answered with a shrug. He heard Clint snort a laugh.

Loki held up a computer – a see-through piece of plastic on which Tony could make out the picture of a Firefly class cargo ship. His shoulders tensed, his stomach dropping. Loki raised his eyebrows. “If you'd gotten here sooner, you might've beaten the bulletin that came up saying a rogue vessel, classification 'Firefly', was spotted pulling illegal salvage on a derelict transport.”

Tony clenched his jaw. “Didn't I.D. us. Doesn't lead to you.”

“No, it doesn't. But a government stamp on every molecule of the cargo just maybe might.”

Tony could feel Nat and Clint staring at him in surprise. He pressed his lips together.

Loki smiled. “Oh, you noticed that. You were going to hand over imprinted goods and just let me twist, is that the case?”

“We didn't pick the cargo,” Tony said. “You did.”

“And I didn't flash my ass at the gorram _law_ ,” Loki answered angrily. “There's no deal.”

Nat stepped forward, her hands clenching into fists. “That’s not fair.”

Loki glanced at her. “Crime and politics, little girl: the situation is always ... fluid.”

Tony didn’t have to look at Nat to know that she was glaring at Loki. She didn’t like being belittled and for good reason: she was a capable fighter and could probably take Loki down with a tablespoon. Loki knew that as well. The only reason he was this cocky was because his men were surrounding him.

Clint scoffed. “We did the job and now you refuse to pay? What kind of businessman are you?”

Tony raised his hands a little, trying to keep the situation under control. “Loki, you know you can still unload those goods. So I can't help thinking there's something else at work here.”

Loki snorted in derision, his eyes pinning Tony in place. “What were you in the war, that big war you failed to win?”

Tony swallowed, his hands clenching into fists. He didn’t like to think back to the war, to that moment he’d realized his life up until that point had been a sham. To the moment he’d lost his best friend.

“You were an engineer, yeah? The Merchant of Death. Built weapons nobody else could build. Now you got yourself a ship and you call yourself a captain.” Loki stepped around his desk and right into Tony’s space. “Well this is my gorram den, and I don't like the way you look down on me. I'm above you. You're just a scavenger, who I keep hiring as a favor to my gullible brother.”

Tony smirked. “Well, maybe I'm not a fancy gentleman like you with your ...” He gave Loki’s suit a derisive glance. “… very fine suit ... but I do business. We're here for business.”

Loki turned away from him. “Try one of the border planets, they're a lot more desperate there. Of course, they might kill you, but you stay here and I just know SHIELD will track you down.” He smirked at them. “I have that feeling.”

Clint’s hand tightened to a fist but Tony sent him a warning look. He turned to go instead, motioning for Clint and Nat to follow. “Wheel never stops turning, Loki.”

“That only matters to the people on the rim,” Loki answered.

* * *

1Chinese, appr. meaning “f***”

2Chinese, appr. meaning “shut up”


	2. Chapter 2

**Guys, check out[this cool artwork](https://shoyzz-art.tumblr.com/post/634696579608182784/in-the-distant-future-humankind-has-spread-its) by my friend shoyzz-art; it's Tony as Mal Reynolds!**

**Chapter 2**

Shuri noticed him as soon as he approached, tugging a large suitcase behind himself that rumpled over the dirty pathway and carrying a bulging leather bag over his shoulder. His dark suit looked pretty new, so he probably had money to spare. He was probably around Tony’s age, had curly dark hair, sun-burnt skin, and dark eyes that perused every single ship he passed – the ships, not the terminal listing the destinations they were headed to.

That was unusual.

As he passed the ship parked next to _Serenity_ , the man guarding the cargo hold called out, “You going on a trip, Professor? Need safe passage? We're cheap. We're clean.” He pointed at the ship he was guarding as the man stopped to take a closer look. “The _Brutus_ , the best ship in the 'verse. What's your des, Professor? We're hitting the outer rings.”

The man looked at the _Brutus_ for a long time, at the guy waiting for an answer and then towards _Serenity_.

His face lit up a little.

When his eyes met Shuri’s, she smiled at him and sent a little wave, calling out, “You're gonna come with us.”

“Excuse me?” he answered.

Shuri stood, smoothing down her green overall with one hand while twirling the parasol with the other, and sauntered down the cargo ramp. “You like ships,” she said. “You don't seem to be looking at the destinations. What you care about is the ships, and mine's the nicest.”

Ignoring the offer from the _Brutus_ , the man came closer. His eyes narrowed, taking _Serenity_ in. “She doesn't look like much.”

Shuri grinned, knowing she had won, and tucked her hand into the pocket of her overall. “Well, don’t be so sure.” She stopped in front of him, casting a curious glance at his large suitcase. “You ever sail in a Firefly?”

He smiled. He had laugh lines around his kind, dark eyes and a friendly face that put Shuri at ease. Calm and peace radiated off him. “Long before you were crawling. Not this generation through. Didn't have the extenders, tended to shake.”

Shuri hummed, taking note of the fact that he seemed to know at least the basics of spacecraft engineering. “So, uh, how come you don't care where you're going?”

He ducked his head. “'Cause how you get there is the worthier part.”

Shuri nodded. “Are you really a professor?”

“He made a good guess, actually. I used to be. Been out of the world for a spell, though.”

Shuri held out her hand. “Well, I'm Shuri. This is _Serenity_ , and she's the smoothest ride from here to Boros for anyone who can pay.” She paused, raising one brow. “Can you pay, or ...?”

“Well, I've got a little cash, and … uh...” He went through his shoulder bag and got out a wooden box, handing it over to her.

Shuri closed the parasol and opened the box carefully and her eyes widened at the sight of the strawberries inside. The sweet scent made her want to save them up forever and eat all of them at once at the same time. She closed the lid, knowing that Nat would never forgive her if she didn’t share. “Welcome aboard, Professor.”

He nodded. “I’m Bruce. Banner.”

Shuri smiled. “Welcome aboard, Bruce.”

***

Clint was still seething as they reached the docks. “I don't understand why we didn't leave that jerk in a pool of his own blood.”

“We'd be dead,” Tony answered, the tension in his shoulders loosening a little when he saw _Serenity_ in the distance. “You can't get paid if you're dead.”

Clint scoffed. “You can't get paid if you crawl away like a little bug, neither.”

Nat shot him a glare over her shoulder, her hand resting firmly on her gun. “So we'll find a buyer on Boros. There's gotta be a-“

“Boros is too big,” Tony interrupted her, shaking his head. “It's crawling with SHIELD, they could just be waiting for us.”

Nat’s eyes widened. “You really think Loki would sell us out?”

Tony spotted a group of SHIELD agents off to the side, huddled together and watching people pass by with deep frowns. For a second, it almost seemed as if they were looking for someone, scanning passing faces, and Tony instinctively averted his eyes as they passed them. “If he hasn't already.”

Nat sighed. “If SHIELD catches us with government goods, we'll lose the ship.”

Tony shook his head. “That's never gonna happen.”

“We could just dump the cargo.”

Clint caught up to them, hissing, “No way. We didn’t have a job in weeks. I didn't sign on with this crew to take in the sights. We need coin.”

“Clint,” Tony snapped, “your mouth is talking. You might wanna look to that.” Clint sent him an offended look and opened his mouth to complain but Tony continued, “You're right, though. The last two jobs we had were weak tea. We got nothing saved, taking on passengers won't help near enough.” He bit his lip, staring at _Serenity_. “If we don't get paid for this cargo, we don't have enough money to fuel the ship, let alone keep her in repair. She'll be dead in the water.”

Nat frowned. “So we do like Loki said? The rim planets?”

“I'm thinking Whitefall,” Tony said. “Maybe talk to Pym?”

Nat shook her head. “Tony, we don't want to deal with Pym again.”

“Why?”

Nat sent him a disbelieving look. “He _shot_ you.”

Tony shrugged. “Well, yeah, he did a bit ... still …”

“So we find somebody else. Horowitz.”

“He can't afford it.”

“The Holden boys.”

“They wouldn't touch it. Do you want me to go through the list? The Capshaw's are brain-blown. Gruvick's dead-“

“He's dead?” Nat asked, surprised.

Tony nodded. “His town got hit by Reavers. Burned it right down.”

Clint let out a wounded sound, shaking his head. “I’m not going near Reaver territory. Those people aren’t human.”

Tony ignored him. “Whitefall is the safest and the closest. It’s been a long time since Pym shot me and that was due to a perfectly legitimate conflict of interest. I hold no grudge and he owns half of that moon now. He can afford what we got and he just might need it.”

Nat crossed her arms. “I still don't think the old man’s the way.”

Tony saw Steve steer the mule up the ramp into the loading dock, the boxes filled to the brim with supplies. “I'm not saying it won't be tricky, but we’ve got no choice.”

They were getting close enough to hear Shuri welcome a passenger, a young man with short blond hair wearing a rumpled sweater and dark cargo pants. He was carrying a duffel bag over his shoulder and had no other luggage.

Tony knew the type.

He was either looking for a better future on Boros or on the run from something. Even if the latter was the case, Tony didn’t care overly much. While ships providing passage had the responsibility to call the authorities if they realized that one of their passengers was on the run from them, Tony and his crew never checked SHIELD’s wanted lists. They could always say they hadn’t known. It wasn’t as if they were earning their money entirely legally as well. As long as nobody brought trouble aboard his ship, Tony was willing to overlook their personal troubles.

Shuri smiled widely at the man, gesturing for him to enter the cargo bay. “Welcome aboard, Mr ...”

“Dobson,” he said.

“Dobson,” Shuri echoed. She caught Tony’s eyes and nodded, holding up three fingers.

Three passengers.

It wasn’t much, given that they had six cabins available, but it was better than nothing. Tony sighed. “We just have to keep our heads down, do the job, hope there aren’t more surprises.” As he walked up the ramp, he noticed a big box sitting in the corner of the cargo bay and stopped in surprise. It reached up to his waist and was almost rectangular, blue lights blinking away on a display. It was cutting edge technology, something that clearly belonged into shining cities on core planets or into the squeaky-clean cargo holds of SHIELD’s ships. Not into their slightly dusty and rusty cargo bay.

He looked at it in confusion.

“I hope you don’t mind that I brought some scientific equipment,” somebody said and he turned to a man his age with dark hair that was combed back neatly and bright blue eyes. He wore an expensive, black three-piece suit over a white button-down. His clothes and clean-shaven face screamed ‘core-bred’. Rich from birth and used to get their way.

Tony knew that type as well – he’d _been_ that type.

“Tony,” Shuri said, “this is Dr. Ben Parker. Ben, this is our captain, Tony Stark.”

Tony stared at Parker for a long moment. Something was _off_ , he could just feel it. Someone like Parker shouldn’t be buying passage on a ship like _Serenity_. Parker seemed calm and collected but Tony got a feeling that was just a façade.

“Captain Stark,” Parker said, inclining his head respectfully.

Tony reminded himself that he shouldn’t care and nodded. “Welcome aboard.” He turned to Shuri, his eyes roaming over Dobson and to another passenger, a man in a slightly rumpled suit who was looking out at the busy dock. “This all we got?”

Shuri nodded and Tony climbed the metal stairs up to the walkway connecting the cargo bay with the passenger cabins and the shuttles. Nat fell into step beside him. “Now we have a boatful of citizens right on top of our ... stolen cargo,” she said. “That's a fun mix.”

Tony scoffed. “There is no way in the 'verse that they could find that compartment, even if they were looking for it.”

“Why not?” Nat asked.

Tony stopped at the top of the stairs and looked at her. “Because ... they can’t.”

Nat rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah, this is gonna go great.”

Tony nodded down at the passengers. “If anyone gets nosy, just, you know ... shoot them.”

Nat frowned. “Shoot them?”

Tony grinned. “Politely.”

***

Steve saw Pepper’s shuttle approach while he was getting the ship ready for take-off and opened the comm line. “Pepper. You're just in time.”

_“Let me guess,”_ Pepper answered, her voice vaguely amused. _“We're in a hurry.”_

She steered the shuttle closer to where it would attach to the side of _Serenity_. Steve kept an eye on the camera that provided him with a view of the shuttle slowly approaching its docking position and flipped a switch to extend the clamps that would lock it against _Serenity_ ’s side. “Looks like. Port hatch green for docking.”

_“Locked in five. Four.”_

There was a clonking noise as the shuttle settled into place and the clamps fastened. The success of the maneuver was confirmed to Steve via his screen and he turned to call over his shoulder, “The Ambassador has returned!”

Nat’s voice passed the message on, echoing through the corridor towards the bridge, “We got a full house, Tony!”

The ramp to the cargo bay started to rise, the airlock closing. Steve revved up the engine for take-off and smiled. “Smooth sailing.”

***

Tony gathered everyone in the dining area once they had reached space and waited until the three passengers had taken a seat around the big wooden table that was set up there for meals. He introduced the crew and then went into the rules. “Meals are taken up here in the dining area, the kitchen”, he nodded towards the small kitchenette installed next to the dining table, “is pretty much self-explanatory. You're welcome to eat anything in the fridge at any time. What we have is pretty standard fare, I guess, protein in all the colors of the rainbow. We do have sit-down meals, the next one being at about 1800.”

Shuri raised a hand and smiled at Banner. “Bruce has offered to help me prepare something.”

The man in question blushed a little. “I have some spices and fresh ingredients on me that I would like to share.”

Tony nodded. “That sounds fantastic, thank you. As I said, you're welcome to visit the dining area any time. Apart from that, I have to ask you to stay in the passenger dorm while we're in the air. The bridge, the engine room, cargo bay - they're all off limits without an escort.”

Parker frowned. “Some of my personal effects are in the cargo bay.”

Tony nodded. “I figure you all got luggage you're going to need to get into. As soon as we're done here, we'll be happy to fetch them with you.” He paused. “Now I have to tell you all one other thing and I apologize in advance for the inconvenience. Unfortunately, we've been ordered by SHIELD to drop some medical supplies off on Whitefall. It's the fourth moon of Athens, a little out of our way, but we should have you on Boros no more than a day off schedule.”

Parker’s frown had deepened, his blue eyes narrowing. “What medical supplies?”

His curiosity irked Tony, his dislike for the man deepening. “I honestly didn't ask.”

Nat cut in from the corner, where she was sharing one of the worn couches with Clint. “Probably plasma, insulin, whatever else they need on the rim moons.”

Tony nodded and kept his eyes firmly locked on Parker’s as he added, “SHIELD says ‘Jump’, we ask how high.”

Parker was looking at him strangely and, Tony noticed, so was Dobson. Another supporter of the government then … great. He looked at Clint and Nat. “You two want to take them to the cargo bay?”

Nat nodded.

“Anything else you need,” Tony finished his speech, “just ... ask. We, uh, we're here to serve.”

The passengers rose from their seats, following Nat and Clint out the room. Tony crossed his arms and released a breath before he looked at Steve. “Did you send word to Pym?”

“Haven’t heard back yet,” Steve answered and frowned quizzically. “Didn't he shoot you one time?”

Tony huffed a laugh, grinning at Shuri. “Everybody's making a fuss.”

***

Tony was standing on the walkway in the cargo bay, leaning against the railing and watching the passengers getting their luggage below. Nat and Clint were keeping an eye on them, making sure they didn’t go near their hidden stash of foodstuff. Tony’s attention, however, was mainly on Parker, who was fiddling with the display of his box, frowning deeply and muttering to himself. When Dobson stumbled into Parker, uttering a hasty apology, Tony’s eyes followed him instead.

Both of them were weird. He’d managed to talk to Shuri for a couple of minutes and had learned that Parker was a doctor and Dobson was – as Tony had assumed – looking to start a new life on Boros, while Banner was a professor of some kind. Unlike the other two, Banner didn’t rub Tony the wrong way, though. He seemed to be perfectly friendly, a constant serene smile on his face. Shuri had taken a liking to him, clearly, asking him about his travels while he gathered his belongings.

The door to the shuttle opened and Tony turned to see Pepper step out. She was wearing an elegant robe made of blue silk embroidered with white orchids that was tightened around her slim waist with a belt and brought out her blue eyes. Her blonde hair was falling down on her shoulders, curling slightly around her pretty face. She was beautiful and elegant, as always, and Tony’s heart did a little jump.

He wrestled it down, reminding himself that Pepper was a companion and as such, unattainable. Besides, she wasn’t overly fond of him anyway. He was the only one not allowed to call her Pepper and he refused to call her by her given name Virginia because he didn’t think it fit her. At some point, this had evolved into a slightly petty stand-off in which Pepper acted like she was above him and Tony called her ‘Ambassador’. He grinned at her. “The Ambassador graces us with her presence.”

He knew Pepper hated the nickname, but she was a classy lady, so she ignored it. “Hi, Tony. I see we have some new faces.”

Shuri interrupted them, running up the stairs and hugging Pepper tightly. “Hey, you.”

Pepper returned the hug and then framed Shuri’s face with her hands, seeming to check her over. “Hey, you.”

Tony noticed that Banner had followed Shuri and said, “Ambassador, this is Professor Bruce Banner.”

Pepper hugged Shuri to her side and raised her eyebrows at Banner in surprise. “I'd have to say this is the first time we've had a professor on board.”

“Well,” Banner said, “I wasn't expecting to see a state official, either.” He took her offered hand, bowing at the waist slightly. Tony huffed a laugh, causing Pepper to glare at him and Banner to look confused. “I'm missing something funny.”

Shuri was also glaring at Tony. “Not _that_ funny.”

Pepper took pity on Banner. “’Ambassador’ is Tony's way of-“

“She’s a prostitute, Professor,” Tony interrupted her.

For a moment, it was silent, then Shuri said, “The term is ‘companion’.”

“Yeah, I always get those mixed up,” Tony said. He looked at Banner. “She _is_ pretty much our ambassador,” he explained. “There's plenty of planets that won't even let you dock without a decent companion on board.”

Banner looked slightly shocked, his dark eyes wide.

Tony crossed his arms, a hint of protectiveness coming through. Sure, Pepper and him didn’t really get along most of the time, but she was part of his crew. “This ... this isn't a problem for you, is it, Professor?”

Banner looked taken aback. “Well, I ... I certainly ...”

Pepper touched his arm. “It's all right. I mostly keep to myself.” She glared at Tony. “When I’m not prostituting myself.” She turned to leave.

“Don't you wanna meet the rest of the bunch?” Tony asked her.

Pepper didn’t look at him while she answered, “Why don't you make sure they want to meet _me_ first?” She left, Shuri sending one last glare at Tony before following her – and, okay, _that_ hurt a lot. Shuri rarely glared at people and especially rarely at Tony.

Tony watched them leave, regret like acid in his mouth. Banner was looking at him curiously, so Tony turned away from him, his eyes back on Parker … who was still fiddling with his box.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Dinner was served about an hour later.

Pepper was the only one who didn’t join and Shuri, wanting to make sure that she didn’t miss out on a meal using actual fresh ingredients, quickly brought her a plate to the shuttle before rejoining everyone around the big dining table.

The atmosphere was relaxed, if a bit stilted, as was normal when strangers came together to eat. Everyone was obviously enjoying the meal, though. The grilled chicken breasts and tomatoes went perfectly with the bread and the freshly churned butter.

Nat closed her eyes, focusing on the different flavors, releasing a happy sigh. When she opened them, she saw Clint eating slowly, his expression thoughtful and his eyes a little sad. She nudged his foot gently and he looked at her. “Reminds you of home?”

He nodded.

Nat understood. The farm Clint and his family owned had been her first association as well when the smell of the chicken had started to waft through the corridors, reminding her of summer days by the lake with Clint’s kids, riding through open fields and staring at the stars at night.

Tony’s voice cut through her thoughts, pulling her back to the present. “Thank you for sharing, Professor.”

Banner blushed a little and averted his eyes. “It’s no trouble. The ingredients would spoil if they weren’t used.”

“Still,” Tony said.

Shuri smiled widely. “There’s even more. We can have strawberries for dessert and tomorrow morning, we can make actual scrambled eggs.”

Nat reached for a second helping of tomatoes. “Where’d you get all this food?”

Bruce answered, “When I left the abbey, they gave me some parting gifts.”

Ben paused in surprise. “You lived at an abbey?”

“Southdown Abbey,” Banner answered with a nod and Nat remembered having seen maps of Eavesdown showing the abbey, located just outside the city bounds. “I needed to get away from everything for a while.”

“How long were you there?” Nat asked.

“Five years, give or take.”

Clint snagged another slice of bread. “Are you a religious man?”

Banner shook his head. “Just in need of some time to think.”

Nat caught Tony staring, his dark eyes narrowed, and followed his gaze. Ben Parker and Lawrence Dobson were sitting next to each other. She noticed the way Parker was holding himself, ram-rod straight, a tense setting to his shoulders. She also noticed Dobson throwing glances at him from the corner of his eyes. Nat looked at Tony, waiting for him to catch her eyes before tilting her head at the two men. Tony shrugged, covering the gesture by leaning back in his chair. Tony was suspicious, Nat could understand.

She saw Steve watching their silent exchange as well, aware that he had probably picked up on Tony’s suspicion much earlier than she had. The two of them didn’t always get along, but they knew each other better than anyone else on the ship. She guessed that fighting in a war together did that.

Banner was just finishing an explanation when she paid attention to him again. “The important thing is the spices. You can even make the most rotten foodstuff taste better with a bit of rosemary.”

Steve nodded at him. “Maybe you can teach me a thing or two? Whenever we have fresh food, I feel we are wasting its potential.”

“I would love that,” Banner answered.

Parker cleared his throat, placing his cutlery down on his plate, and looked at Tony. “So, does it happen a lot? SHIELD commandeering your ship, telling you where to go?”

Tony chewed slowly before he answered, “That's what governments are for – to get in our way.”

Dobson shifted uncomfortably. “Well, it's good, if the supplies are needed.”

Clint grinned widely, his voice turning sickly sweet as he said, “We're just happy to be helping.”

Nat rolled her eyes at him.

Dobson nodded slowly. “I hear a lot of the rim moons are in bad shape. Plagues and famine ...”

“Well,” Nat said, “some of that's exaggerated, and some of it isn't. All those rim moons – just like the central and border planets, they're as close to Earth-That-Was as we could make them. They’ve got gravity, atmosphere and such, but ...”

Tony continued, “Once they're terraformed, SHIELD dumps settlers on there with nothing but blankets, hatchets, maybe a herd. Some of them make it, some of them don’t, some of them barely.” He set his cutlery down and folded his hands under his chin, pinning Dobson with a dark look. “Core-bred folks from the central planets will never understand how privileged they are. Their worlds were as poor as the rim is today a few hundred years ago, but they don’t remember that. The border was as poor as the rim also not that long ago, but people on the more privileged worlds like Persephone, they are starting to forget that as well. The rim is furthest from the core, needs help the most, but the core - the Alliance - they only care if people riot and all they do then is send SHIELD to silence them.”

It was quiet for a long moment, everybody looking either at Tony or at their plate.

Finally, Parker cleared his throat. “I saw you wearing a brown coat when entering the ship earlier, Captain. Did you fight in the war?”

Tony looked at him. “And if I did?”

Parker slowly said, “The soldiers of the Independence, the ones fighting against the central planets, they wore coats like that, didn’t they?”

“We lost the war,” Tony said. “Doesn’t make us criminals.”

“I didn’t imply that.” He kept looking at Tony steadily and Nat had to admit that she was a little impressed by his perseverance. “I have to admit that I understood the motives of the Independence. Rim planets are not represented in the parliament, border planets can only send delegates when they reach a certain population. Seems unfair.”

Tony gave a nod.

Dobson cleared his throat. “I think the Alliance is doing more for the rim than you think. After all, they are asking you to drop off medical supplies, aren’t they?”

Tony’s jaw clenched but he didn’t answer.

Thankfully, Shuri quickly jumped in to change the topic, looking at Parker curiously. “You're a doctor, right?”

“Yes,” Parker answered. “Yes, I was a trauma surgeon on Osiris, in Capital City.”

Dobson shot him a look. Something was definitely going on between those two.

Tony hummed thoughtfully. “Long way from here, well-paid job on a central planet. How come you left?”

Parker put on a bland smile. “More interesting prospects.”

Tony hummed in answer, his dark eyes turning piercing.

Parker looked at Shuri in a clear attempt to distract from himself. “You're pretty young to be a ship's mechanic.”

Shuri blushed and shrugged. “Machines just … talk to me. I get them.”

Banner gave her a smile. “That's a rare gift.”

Her blush deepened. “Tony taught me a lot as well.”

Parker’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’re a mechanic, too?”

Tony took a sip of his water, letting the question hang for a long moment, before he answered, “Something like that.”

***

It had been a long day.

Tony sighed and shrugged his suspenders off, opening the first few buttons of the red shirt he wore and sitting on the edge of his cot. His private quarters were small but not cramped. He didn’t have much and he also didn’t need more than his clothes, a couple of six shooters and an old tool belt that he’d last worn when he’d been in the war. It hung on a hook in the corner, right next to the half-melted identification tag that Tony had taken off the dead body of his best friend.

A constant reminder of Rhodey’s friendship and of the role Tony had played in his death.

The intercom crackled to life and Steve’s voice filtered though. _“Tony, you might wanna get up here.”_

Steve sounded worried and serious. Tony had a suspicion that he wouldn’t be able to catch a few hours of sleep anytime soon. He left his suspenders down to hang by his hips as he climbed the ladder out of his quarters and crossed the small distance to the bridge. “What is it?”

Steve was frowning at one of his screens. “Outgoing signal. Somebody went on the Cortex and hailed the nearest SHIELD cruiser.”

Tony’s stomach dropped. “What?! Tell me you scrambled it.”

Steve scoffed. “Yeah, but I don't know how much got through. SHIELD’s got a pin on us for sure.” Tony stared out the front window into space, as Steve added, “We have a mole on board.”

“Yeah,” Tony agreed. He swallowed. A SHIELD cruiser was bad news, especially considering the stolen cargo that they were transporting. As hidden as it was from the naked eye, he knew that SHIELD sometimes tagged their goods and if they got close enough, they might just be able to pick up on the signal.

Then there was the question of who had contacted SHIELD and why.

No matter what the answer was, it wasn’t good for Tony and the crew. His eyes wandered to the screens displaying various angles of their surveillance cameras. They had five in total; three on the outside of the ship and two surveying the cargo bay.

And it was one of those that caught Tony’s attention now: he saw Parker doing what they had told the passengers not to do; entering the cargo bay.

His jaw tightened. “And I know who it is.” He left the bridge, hurrying down the nearby stairs to enter the cargo bay on the lower level. Seeing Parker standing by his mysterious box and fiddling with the controls, Tony made sure to sneak up to him as quietly as possible. Parker noticed him at the last moment, turning around to stare at Tony in surprise when he asked, “Forget your toothpaste?”

Then he punched Parker in the face.

Parker fell back against his box and slid to the floor, his blue eyes staring up at Tony in shock, then anger. “Are you out of your mind?”

“Yeah, just about! What did you tell them?”

Parker got to his feet, the back of his hand pressed against his bleeding lip. He looked honestly confused. “Tell who?”

Tony wasn’t going to be fooled that easily. He pulled his six shooter, pointing it at Parker’s forehead. The man blanched and took a step back, leaning against his box. Tony hissed, “I have exactly no time for games. What do they know?”

Parker shook his head. “You're a lunatic.”

“And you're a gorram fed!”

A voice from the walkway above said, “Hate to say it, Captain, but you've got the wrong man.”

Tony looked towards Banner and then in the direction he was staring at; something behind him. Tony cursed when he saw Dobson, who was holding a gun on both of them. “Drop that firearm, Captain Stark.”

Tony’s shoulders slumped. “This is not my best day ever.” Knowing that he didn’t have much of a choice, he complied, his six shooter clanging loudly as it dropped to the metal grating.

Dobson nodded. “You are bound by law to stand down.”

Tony sighed. “Listen, I-”

“Not _you_ ,” Dobson snapped and Tony realized that he was staring at Parker. “ _You_.”

“What?” Tony asked in surprise. “The doctor?” He hesitated. “Is there … is there a reward?”

Dobson ignored him. “Get on the ground!” His fingers flexed, adjusting the grip on his gun. His face was slightly clammy and Tony caught his free hand trembling.

Parker was staring at him, his face impassive. “Agent,” he said slowly, “you are making a mistake.”

Tony grimaced. “I think you best get on the ground. The man seems a little twitchy.”

Banner added, “I think everybody could stand to calm down a bit.” He was coming down the stairs to the lower level, moving towards Dobson.

“This is none of your business, Professor.”

Banner tilted his head. “Maybe, but he’s not going anywhere, Agent. As I understand it, it's pretty cold outside.”

Tony nodded, trying to calm the situation as well by suggesting, “We could just lock him in one of the passenger quarters. He won't make a peep until you hand him over to-“

“You think I'm a complete backbirth?!” Dobson snapped. “You're carrying a fugitive across interplanetary borders! And you think I actually believe you're bringing medical supplies to Whitefall? As far as I care, everyone on this ship is culpable.”

Banner sighed. “Please, we're very close to true stupidity here.”

“I got a cruiser en route for intercept, so talk all you want. You got about twenty minutes.”

Tony winced. “You might have less than that.”

“Yeah,” Dobson laughed, “threaten me.”

Banner was still moving towards him. “For God's sake-“

Dobson moved the gun towards him. “You think I wouldn't shoot a professor? Back off!”

Tony grabbed Parker’s arm. “Just take the doctor, man!”

Parker tried to shrug him off. “Get your hands off me!”

“Stand the hell down!” Dobson shouted.

A voice from the side asked, “Why's everybody …”

Dobson spun and fired. The sound of the gunshot was loud in the enclosed space, but Tony barely heard it. All he heard was Shuri gasp in surprise and then pain, stumbling back into the wall. “What ...” Blood started to trickle out of a wound in her belly, developing into a steady stream. She fell to the floor.

“Shuri!” Tony shouted, running towards her.

Dobson opened his mouth to yell an order but Banner’s fist hit him square in the face and he fell. Banner kicked the gun out of his hands.

By the time Tony fell to his knees next to Shuri, Pepper had appeared, making shushing noises as Shuri whimpered in pain. Nat and Clint joined them, running down the stairs from the dining area.

“What the hell?” Clint asked.

“It’s Dobson,” Tony said. “Go, go!” They obeyed, squeezing past them and into the cargo bay. Tony cupped Shuri’s cheek with one hand. “How do you feel?”

Her face had paled, tears welling up in her dark eyes and running down her cheeks. “A little odd.”

Banner joined them, shifting Shuri’s hands away from the wound to take a look.

“Are you a doctor?” Tony asked, suspicious of everyone who wasn’t his crew, especially after the events of the last few minutes.

“I used to be,” Banner answered. “It’s been a long time, though.” He grimaced as he looked at the wound and then leaned Shuri forwards gently to check her back. “And I’m not a surgeon. There’s no exit wound.”

Something like this wasn’t supposed to happen on their ship, far away from any help. None of them were qualified to take care of this. None of them but … Tony looked back at Parker, who was standing off to the side, staring at them while Nat kept a watchful eye on him.

Shuri whimpered.

“She's going into shock,” Banner said.

Pepper whispered, “Meimei1, you have to focus.”

Steve’s voice sounded over the intercom. _“Tony, we've been hailed by a cruiser. Ordered to stay on course and dock for prisoner transfer.”_

Tony was still staring at Parker, who seemed to realize what he was considering. He nodded and said, “Change course. Run.”

“To hell with you,” Tony snapped. “You brought this down on us, I'm dumping you with the law.”

“She's dying,” Parker said.

Tony’s jaw clenched. “You're not gonna let her.”

Parker returned his glare, seemingly calm, though Tony could see his hands tremble just a little. “If you don’t change course, I will.”

“No,” Tony said. “You’re a doctor, you _have_ to help.”

Clint, who was keeping his gun steadily aimed at a kneeling Dobson, said, “Tony, the feds aren’t going let us walk even _if_ we hand him over.”

“Then we dump him in the shuttle and leave him for them!” Tony answered angrily.

Shuri whimpered. “Everybody's so mad.”

Pepper shushed her. “It's okay, baby.”

Parker asked, “Do you know what a stomach wound does to a person?”

Tony felt nauseous and swallowed. “I surely do.”

“Then you know how crucial the next few minutes are.”

Nat grabbed Parker’s shirt collar, slamming him back against his box and holding a knife against his throat. “You let her die, you'll never _make_ it to the feds.”

Parker swallowed. “She'll still be dead.”

Clint cursed. “You rich kids! You think your lives are the only thing that matters. What did you do for them to hunt you? Did you kill your folks for the family fortune?”

Parker looked at him but didn’t answer.

Tony heard Shuri sob and it broke his heart. If it came down to it, there was no alternative. He wouldn’t let Shuri die, even if it meant to let the man go who’d caused her injury. “Do your job.”

“You’ll turn the ship around?”

He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut. Then he said, “Nat, we’ll change course.”

Parker moved towards them immediately. “Help me get her up. You got an infirmary?”

“Yeah, fully stocked,” Tony answered.

Banner nodded at Parker. “I can assist you.”

Nat hit the intercom button. “Steve, change course and go for hard burn. We're running.”

***

When Parker and Banner stepped out of the infirmary almost two hours later, Tony, Nat, Pepper and Clint were gathered in the small seating area next to it. Dobson had been tied up in one of the guest quarters and Steve was still on the bridge, making sure that the SHIELD cruiser wasn’t following and that no other SHIELD ships were coming for them.

Tony had been watching Banner and Parker work through the window that connected the infirmary to the seating area, his heart and stomach in twists at the very idea of Shuri not making it. He’d promised her once that he would always make sure she was okay, a sentiment that was shared by the rest of the crew. It was unfair that she was the one who had to suffer for this mess.

He had also tried to come up with a solution to their Dobson and Parker problem. They needed to get rid of both as soon as possible. They could just send them out the airlock, of course, but Tony had to admit that, despite his anger, he wasn’t _that_ cold.

He shifted his attention to Parker as he said, “I can't do anything more until she stabilizes.”

His expression was rather neutral, hard to read. Tony swallowed. “Will she?”

Parker shrugged. “I can't say yet.”

Pepper took a shaky breath, tears shining in her eyes. “I want to know what's going on here.”

Tony found himself in complete agreement. He’d held off while they’d been waiting, but now that Shuri was okay for the moment, he thought that Parker owed them some answers. “Well, then why don't we find out?” He got up from the couch and quickly moved towards the door leading into the cargo bay.

Parker was quick to follow him. “What are you ...”

Tony made straight for the high-tech box.

“No!” Parker said, grabbing Tony’s arm. “No, stay away from that!”

Clint wrestled Parker back and pinned him against the wall, while Tony started to study the outside of the box, trying to find a way to open it among the blinking indicators and buttons. He saw Nat hover nearby out of the corner of his eyes.

There was a scuffle behind him and a grunt from Clint, then Parker’s voice, desperately calling out, “Don't! Don’t open that!”

Tony ignored him, his eyes finally finding a button that read ‘Release’. He glanced back at Parker, still pinned against the wall by Clint, then he turned back to the box and pushed the button. The box hissed, as if releasing a breath of relief, and the lid popped open a little, smoke escaping. Tony felt a cold draft of air, suggesting that the box was in fact a cryo unit. It had been a long time since he’d seen one up close and even then, it had been a different model; caskets instead of a square, nondescript box. He shook the thought off and turned to look at Parker again.

His expression was a mix of resignation and annoyance, his blue eyes glaring at Tony and his lips pressed together. Banner and Pepper were standing next to Clint, watching curiously.

“Well,” Tony said and nodded at Nat, “let's see what a man like you would kill for.” He kicked the lid off all the way, heard it clattering to the metal grating of the cargo bay, and looked down.

And stared.

“Tony?” Nat asked. “What is it?”

He didn’t know how to answer. “Huh.”

Inside the box, curled into a fetal position and surrounded by protective padding, lay a boy. He was unconscious, naked, pale as if he hadn’t seen light for a very long time. Tony swallowed as he looked at what he could see of his face. The kid couldn’t be more than sixteen years old.

Nat stopped next to him and made a choked sound when she saw what was inside the box. “What the …”

Parker sounded resigned when he said, “I need to check his vitals.”

Cold fury wrapped around Tony’s chest, threatening to choke him, as the implications of all this came together to a story he didn’t like at all. He glared at Parker. “Oh, is _that_ what they call it?”

“He's not supposed to wake up for another week! The shock-”

“The shock of _what_?” Tony interrupted him, a protective surge for the kid shooting through him. “Waking up? Finding out he's been sold to some borderworld baron? Or …” He huffed a laugh. “I'm _sorry_ … was this one _for you_? Is it _true love_? Because you do seem a little-“

There was a scream behind Tony, making him jump and yelp, ducking away from its source. Nat took a step back as well, all of them staring at the boy who was now sitting upright, his dark eyes wandering around the room. He started to whimper and threw himself out of the box, crawling into a corner underneath the stairs and curling up there, his legs to his chest and his face hidden against his knees.

“Peter?” Parker said and wrenched himself out of a stunned Clint’s grasp. He hurried towards the boy, falling to his knees to crawl into the tight space next to him.

“No, no, no,” the boy – Peter – whimpered. “Hands, hands, red hands, dead face.”

“Peter,” Parker whispered. “It's okay. It's okay.” His hands touched Peter’s shoulders but the kid jerked away with a sob. “It's okay. It's okay, I'm here.”

“No, no,” Peter whimpered, curling up tighter.

“Peter,” Parker said gently.

“They-they talk to me, they want me-they want me to ...”

“They're gone,” Parker said. “They're gone. We're safe now. We're safe. We're safe, I'm here. Ben’s here.”

Peter seemed to calm a little, Parker’s hand rubbing gentle circles on his back.

Tony took a deep breath. “What the hell is this?”

Parker looked at him. “This,” he said, “is my nephew.”

* * *

1Chinese, appr. meaning “little sister”


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Something was wrong with the kid.

Something that went deeper than the shock from waking up naked from cryo in a ship full of strangers.

His dark eyes were staring into the middle-distance at nothing, his shoulders hunched and his arms pulled tight against himself, his wrists crossed on his sternum. It was a defensive position that was only amplified by the way he was trembling and muttering incoherently.

This kid didn’t belong in space, it belonged in an institution.

Pepper was the first one to react to Peter’s state of undress, providing her robe for Ben to drape around his nephew. Peter was aware of the change on some level, because he quickly grabbed onto the material and pulled it closed around himself protectively. Ben finally managed to coax Peter out from under the stairs, steering him gently into the infirmary.

Shuri was still asleep on the gurney in the middle of the room, so Ben settled Peter onto the second one in the corner. Tony watched from the door as Ben rooted through his personal bag of medical supplies while Peter stared at his hands, entwined tight enough that his skin turned white. He looked nauseous and confused. Clint entered shortly, setting down a pair of boxershorts, old cargo pants and a hoodie. When he left, Tony went with him to join the others in the seating area.

Just like they had during Shuri’s surgery, they gathered there quietly and waited. Steve joined them at some point and Nat filled him in. Tony caught Steve’s alarmed look and shook his head. He knew that whatever problems they had before, it was way worse now. They had to get rid of the agent, Ben and the kid as quickly as possible. The easiest would be to kick them off on Whitefall and let Pym deal with the consequences.

Ben left the infirmary half an hour later, stepping closer slowly. His expression was tense as were his shoulders. He probably knew that whatever would happen next wasn’t going to be good.

Tony stood, taking the lead. “We need to talk.”

“Yeah,” Ben answered, taking a deep breath. “We do.”

***

They gathered in the dining room to avoid disturbing Shuri and Peter who were both sleeping. Ben positioned himself at the head of the table but he didn’t sit, choosing to stand with his hands folded in front of him instead. He looked at the floor for a long moment, collecting his thoughts and waiting for all of them to take a seat, then he looked up. His eyes found Tony’s first. “I am very smart. I went to the best MedAcad in Capital City, top three percent of my class, finished my internship in eight months.” His lips pulled into a smile. “’Gifted’ is the term.”

Tony leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms.

Ben swallowed and ducked his head for a moment before he continued, “So when I tell you that my nephew makes me look like an idiot since he learned how to talk … I want you to understand my full meaning.” He swallowed. “Peter was more than gifted. He ... he was a gift. Everything he did - music, math, theoretical physics – even … even dance … there was nothing that didn't come as naturally to him as breathing does to us.” He looked at them, as if gauging their reactions, then continued, “There was a ... a school ... a, uh, a government-sponsored academy. I had never even heard of it but it had the most exciting program, the most challenging. I could have sent him anywhere, I had the money, but he wanted to go. He wanted to learn. He was fourteen. I ...” He paused. “I got a few letters at first, and then I didn't hear for months. Finally, I got a letter that made no sense. He … he talked about things that never happened, jokes we never ...” He trailed off, huffing a breath. “It was code. It just said ...” He swallowed. “’They're hurting us. Get me out.’”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Tony asked.

“Nobody believed me,” Ben answered. “Not until …” He rubbed his forehead. “I was contacted by some men, some underground movement. They … they said he was in danger, that … that the government was ... playing with his brain. If I funded them, they could sneak him out in cryo. Get him to Persephone, and from there, I could take him ... wherever.”

Tony frowned and exchanged a look with Nat, Clint and Steve. None of them seemed to know an underground movement of the kind Ben was describing. It didn’t have to mean anything, necessarily, but it increased Tony’s unease about the whole situation. He still wasn’t sure whether to trust Ben.

Pepper’s expression showed compassion. “Will he be alright?”

Ben shrugged with a sad smile. “I don't know if he'll be alright. I don't know what they did to him, or why. I …” He swallowed. “I just have to keep him safe.”

It was quiet for a long moment, then Bruce said, “That's ... quite a story.”

Tony cleared his throat. “Yeah, it's a tale of woe. But in the meantime, you've heaped a world of trouble on me and mine.”

Ben ducked his head. “I never thought-“

“No, I don't imagine you thought. In consequence of which we got a kidnapped federal officer on board, we got SHIELD hard on our trail, and Shuri ...” He didn’t say it, the thought of almost losing her sitting heavy on his chest.

Nat looked at Steve. “How much does SHIELD know?”

Steve shrugged, his arms crossed. “I can't say. I killed the message pretty quick, so they might just have had our position, which would mean we’re in the clear for now.”

Tony grimaced. “Or they might have personal profiles on each and every one of us and are waiting for the best time to strike again. Until that fed talks, we won't know.”

Clint tapped his fingers against the tabletop. “So what do we do?”

Tony thought about his answer for a long moment, then he looked at Steve, who returned his gaze without flinching. Tony was the ship’s captain, the crew’s leader but Steve was his second in command and there were moments when Tony liked to make sure they were on one page. “The job,” he said. “We finish the job. I got word from Pym, he's waiting for us. We circle around to Whitefall, make the deal, get out. Keep flying.”

Ben swallowed. “What about us?”

Tony met his eyes. “Shuri comes through, you and your nephew will get off at Whitefall.”

Ben stared at him. “And if she doesn't come through?”

Tony smirked. “Then you're getting off a bit sooner.”

Bruce frowned. “That'd be murder.”

“He made his bed when he got on board, he’ll have to lay in it.”

Pepper’s jaw clenched. “Tony, he wasn’t the one who shot her.”

Clint huffed a breath. “No, but _somebody_ on this boat did and I'm wondering what we’re going to do about _that_.”

Nat stared at him. “You wanna kill a fed? Can you think of a more stupid thing to do?”

“He can I.D. us all!”

Bruce raised a hand. “Can we maybe _vote_ on the whole murdering people issue?”

Tony narrowed his eyes. “We don't vote on my ship because my ship is not the rutting town hall!”

Pepper glared at him. “This is insanity. Tony …”

“Nimen de bizui1!” he snapped at her, silencing Nat and Clint’s argument as well. “We have to deal with what we have in a way that won’t bring all of us down.”

Pepper frowned. “Tony, you know those two wouldn't survive a day on Whitefall.” Her jaw clenched and her gaze hardened. “You throw them out, I'm leaving too.”

Tony looked at her, anger crushing his chest. “I can’t stop you,” he answered and got up. “This isn’t your business anyway.” He left the room without looking back.

***

Clint used his foot to push open the sliding door to the guest quarters that they were using as a temporary holding cell for the SHIELD agent, maneuvering his way inside without dropping the cup or the bowl from the tray. The guest quarters were small and all provided two cots as well as a tiny closet and a sink and toilet in one corner. Dobson was sitting on one of the cots, his hands cuffed behind his back, and looked at Clint warily as he entered. Clint set the tray down and stepped forward to unlock the handcuffs. Then he settled to lean back against the doorjamb, nodding towards the tray, one hand loosely grasping the handle of his gun. “Eat up. I’ll have to chain you up again.”

Dobson hesitated for a moment then he reached for the bowl of protein mush. “Is it poisoned?”

Clint scoffed. “If I’d come here to kill you, you’d be dead already.”

Dobson started to eat, watching Clint carefully. “How’s the girl?”

“Why’d you care?” Clint answered.

“I didn’t intend to shoot her,” Dobson answered. “Aside from the Companion, she’s the only one on this ship without a spotty track record.”

Clint didn’t answer, but he noticed that Dobson didn’t exclude Bruce. It made him wonder about the professor.

Dobson set the bowl down and pinned Clint with an earnest look. “Do you have _any_ idea how much trouble you're in?”

“Gee,” Clint drawled, “I’ve never been in trouble with the law before.”

“Not like this you haven't. You think this is just a case of smuggling? The package that man is carrying-”

“It's a boy,” Clint interrupted him. “We know.” He gestured to his own head. “I don't think he's all there, though, up here.”

Dobson swallowed. “That boy is a precious commodity. They'll come after him. Long after you bury me, they'll be coming.”

“Oh, we’re not gonna kill you, Dobson,” Clint answered. “We’ll just drop you on some rim planet and let you fend for yourself.”

“That’s as good as killing me,” Dobson answered. “They don’t like SHIELD on the rim.”

“Hm,” Clint replied, “I wonder why. Maybe because you people drop settlers there with barely any supplies or assistance, sometimes without knowing whether the terraforming worked properly?”

Dobson nodded slowly. “I don’t agree with everything our organization does, but you can’t forget that we are just following the orders we get from the government.”

“Right,” Clint said. “The precious United Alliance of Planets.”

Dobson shook his head. “I won’t discuss politics with you.”

Clint hummed. “So what are we talking about?”

Dobson looked at him for a long moment. “You.”

Clint raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“You’re a man who has lost a lot. You’re only on this ship because you’ve got nowhere else to go.”

Clint’s jaw clenched.

“You have a family you haven’t seen in over two years. The boy is worth a lot of money. I mean _a lot_. You kill me, there's nothing. But if you help me out, I could ensure that the powers that be know that you helped me, and you’ll get a reward. How does a pardon sound?”

Clint narrowed his eyes. “You want me to turn on the captain?”

“I want you to think about your options. You could be back with your family by the end of the month. All I need is for you to forget about the handcuffs and to leave that door unlocked.” He smiled. “So, what do you say?”

***

“What now?” Tony asked, having been called to the bridge by Steve. He’d tried to catch up on a bit of sleep, but it had been hard for him to relax enough to doze off and Steve had woken him up only twenty minutes later. He wasn’t the only one who’d followed Steve’s call. Clint was already there, looking out the front window, while Steve was checking the sensors.

Steve’s face was grim. “There’s a ship approaching.”

Tony’s heart skipped a beat. “How the hell did they find us?”

“It's not SHIELD,” Steve answered.

A whole different kind of dread settled in Tony’s chest. He straightened. “You're sure?”

“It's a smaller vessel.”

“Commercial?”

Steve sighed. “Yeah, I read it as an older model Trans-U.” He looked up at Tony, confirming his fears.

Tony shook his head. It was impossible. They were in safe territory, not even close to the edge of the part of the galaxy humans had carved out for themselves.

Clint hadn’t still caught on yet. “I didn't think Trans-U still operated.”

Tony answered, “They don't.” He put one hand on Steve’s shoulder, squeezing. “Get me a visual.”

“They're still too far out to-”

“Get me something!”

Steve grimaced. “I'm picking up a lot of radiation.”

Tony swallowed. “They're operating without core containment.” He looked at Clint. “That's suicide.”

Clint’s eyes widened as he understood. “Reavers.”

They were getting close enough now to slowly appear as a small speck in their line of vision. Tony knew the ship model. It was a big ship, a transporter able to hold up to 500 passengers. His skin crawled at the thought of 500 Reavers swarming _Serenity_. Their ship was tiny in comparison and they would find all of them within minutes, even if they hid.

There was no escape from Reavers.

Even SHIELD knew that, some of their giant vessels having fallen victim to these creatures as well. They didn’t stand a chance in a confrontation … and they all knew it.

***

Nat was sitting by Shuri’s side, holding her hand and brushing her thumb over her knuckles, while Bruce and Ben were taking stock of the supplies they had in the infirmary. Both of them seemed to be impressed by how thoroughly it was stocked, given that the crew didn’t have a medic among them. However, Nat, Tony, Clint and Steve were well able to provide first aid and Steve was a stickler for buying medical supplies whenever they had the money for it.

Nat’s eyes wandered over to Peter, who was still asleep, curled up on the stretcher in the corner. He was practically drowning in the old hoodie Clint had given him from his wardrobe and the belt holding the cargo pants up was cinched tight. He was a cute kid, Nat thought, though his young face looked pinched and distressed even in sleep.

The intercom crackled to life, startling her out of her thoughts, and Tony’s voice sounded through the ship. _“This is the captain. We're passing another ship.”_ There was a pause, then he continued, _“Looks to be Reavers. From the size, probably a raiding party.”_

Nat stiffened, a heavy weight dropping into her stomach.

_“Could be they're headed somewhere particular, could be they've already hit someone and they're full up. So everyone stay calm.”_

Nat’s eyes found Shuri, glad that she was unconscious and couldn’t hear the announcement.

_“We try to run, they'll_ have _to chase us. It's their way. We're holding course. We should be passing them in a minute, so we'll see what they do.”_ There was another pause, then, _“Nat, come on up to the bridge.”_

Nat rose from her seat and headed for the door, but Ben grabbed her arm. “Wait. I-I don't understand.”

“You've never heard of Reavers?” She wouldn’t be surprised. Core-bred folk had lost touch with the reality of the rim a long time ago.

“Well ... campfire stories. Men gone savage on the edge of space, killing, and ...”

Nat held his eyes. “They're not stories.”

Ben swallowed. “What happens if they board us?”

“If they take the ship, they'll rape us to death, eat our flesh and sew our skins into their clothing and if we're very _very_ lucky, they'll do it in that order.”

Ben’s eyes widened, his face paling. Nat left him standing to hurry up to the bridge, finding Tony, Clint and Steve staring out the front window. They were tense, Tony’s hand on the back of Steve’s seat. Tony and Steve always crowded closer together in moments like this, probably a remnant of the war they’d been in together.

The war for independence they’d lost.

Nat didn’t know much about what they’d been through but they’d been on the same team, some sort of special unit with a mission gone awry. Apparently, they’d been the only two survivors in their team of four.

Nat looked at the ship approaching them. It was close enough by now that she could see the red paint crudely marking the outside the hull. The way the Reavers marked their ships always seemed haphazard, but she assumed that they knew exactly what it meant.

“There's a magnetic grappler,” Steve said tightly. “They get ahold of us with that ...”

Tony cleared his throat. “Just tell me if they alter course.”

The ship drew closer – silently and deadly, casting a shadow over them. Nat couldn’t help but grab a hold of the handle of her gun. She knew it wouldn’t do her much good if they were boarded, but she still felt a little safer. Her free hand was grasped by Clint’s and he squeezed tightly.

The ship passed over them … and continued on its way.

“They're holding course,” Steve said.

They all let out a relieved breath.

Tony cleared his throat. “I guess they weren't hungry. Didn't expect to see them here.”

Nat frowned. “They're pushing out further every year.”

Tony crossed his arms, his eyes looking out the window as he nodded slowly. “It’s getting awfully crowded in my sky.”

***

Except for Shuri and Peter, nobody was in the infirmary when Tony entered. And those two were still sleeping soundly. Tony approached Peter carefully, looking down at his sleeping face. He was awfully young and he seemed distressed and scared even in slumber, curled up protectively. Tony thought back to the story Ben had told them, to the SHIELD agent they still had to get rid of. So much trouble for such a small person, he thought. He caught Peter shivering a bit and got an additional blanket out of the cupboard, throwing it over the kid’s legs and pulling it up to his chest.

“Hey, Captain.”

He turned around to Shuri, finding her semi-awake and smiling at him dazedly. He smiled back and stepped closer. “Hey, little Shuri, what's the news?”

“I'm shiny, Captain. And I can't feel much below my belly.”

Tony smiled, tucking his hands into his pockets. “Well, you just have to rest. Something's going to break down on this boat real soon. Who else have I got to fix it?”

Shuri smiled dopily. “You could fix it yourself.”

“I’m the Captain,” Tony answered, putting on an exasperated face. “Can’t do _everything_ around here.”

“You're nice,” Shuri said.

Tony chuckled. “No, I'm not. I'm a mean old man.” He touched her hand, gently squeezing her fingers. “We’ll get rid of all this mess real soon, go back to how it was. I’ll make the doc get off on Whitefall and that agent, too.”

Shuri’s expression sobered, her dark eyes becoming a little clearer. “The doctor wasn't going to let me die. He was just trying to ...” She swallowed. “It's nobody's fault. Okay? Just promise me you'll remember that?”

“I'll keep it in mind.”

Her eyes turned a little cloudy again. “You are a nice man, Captain. You’re always looking after us. You just have to have faith in people.”

Tony chose not to answer that, squeezing her fingers gently instead.

Shuri’s eyes drifted over to Peter. “He looks scared, doesn’t he?” With that, she fell asleep again.

***

“Tony, Pym is hailing us,” Steve said when he entered the bridge following his call.

Nat and Clint were already there, looking at Whitefall that was close enough to fill up almost the entire view. It was a small desert moon and quite a miserable place in Tony’s opinion. Terraforming had only been able to create a few areas that were fertile. Tony knew that there were at least thirty-seven settlements scattered all over the moon. Pym was living in a village that was part of the biggest cluster.

“We're close enough for vid,” Tony said. “Put him up.”

He leant over the video screen to see the weathered face of Hank Pym staring back at him. _“Tony Stark?”_ he asked.

“Hello, Hank,” Tony answered.

_“I have to say I didn't think I’d be hearing from you anytime soon.”_

Tony shrugged. “Well, we may not have parted on the best of terms. I realize certain words were exchanged. Also, certain ... bullets. But that's air through the engine. It's past. We're business people.” He saw Pym narrow his eyes in distrust. Tony smirked. “Besides, your days of fighting over salvage rights are long behind you, what I hear. What are you, mayor now?”

_“Just about,”_ Hank answered, scratching his white goatee. He tilted his head. _“You telling the truth about that cargo? 'Cause your asking price is a bit too reasonable for that much treasure.”_

“It's imprinted,” Tony admitted. “SHIELD. Hence the discount.”

_“Oh, government goods, huh?”_

Tony shrugged, but his hand tightened around the edge of the console. They _needed_ this deal. “If that doesn't work for you, no harm. Just thought you could use-“

_“SHIELD doesn't scare me,”_ Pym interrupted him with a scoff. _“Just collating data, as they say. I like that you're upfront about it.”_ He paused, thinking, his blue eyes looking at something off-camera. Then he nodded. _“We can deal. I'll upload coordinates for a rendezvous point outside of town.”_

“See you in the world.” He ended the transmission with a push of a button and released a long sigh. “I believe that man's planning to shoot me again.”

Clint nodded. “If he meant to pay you, he'd have haggled you down.”

Tony kicked the control panel, angry.

“Tony,” Steve said calmly, “we don't have to deal with him.”

“Yes, we do.” He grimaced.

Clint crossed his arms. “Here's a little concept I’ve been working on. Why don't we shoot him first?”

Nat seemed to consider that. “It _is_ his turn.”

Tony shook his head. “That doesn't get us what we need, either.”

Nat sighed. “There are some moons with trading posts nearby. We could try our luck-“

“Our luck?” Tony interrupted her angrily. “You notice anything particular about our luck these past few days? Any kind of pattern? You depend on luck, you end up on the drift. No fuel, no prospects ... begging for SHIELD to give you work. That’s not us.” He clenched his jaw in determination. “Pym has got the money to pay, and he will, one way or another. There's obstacles in our path, and we're going to deal with them. One by one.” He looked at his crew. “We'll get through this,” he said. “We will.”

***

Whitefall was a bleak moon, rocks and sand dominating the landscape. _Serenity_ touched down a good distance away from the town Pym lived in and Tony, Nat and Clint drove the mule another five minutes to get to the rendezvous point Pym had suggested. Tony and Nat got off to get the lay of the land while Clint went to bury the crates with foodstuff.

The town wasn’t visible from here, a low mountain range separating them from civilization. Tony knew that Pym would make his way here by horse and would probably need another ten minutes to arrive. Nat and Tony identified several areas on the nearby mountain offshoots on which snipers would be in a perfect position to take them out. Tony wasn’t sure whether Pym would actually go as far as to shoot them, at least not lethally, but it made him uneasy.

A cold breeze whipped over the landscape and Tony was glad he’d donned his brown coat. Nat was wearing a black leather jacket that reached to her hip, giving her easy access to the gun in her belt.

Clint joined them, handing Tony one of the foodstuff bars. “I buried them good. The equipment's back on the boat.” He pushed the comm unit into his ear and adjusted the strap of his sniper rifle over his shoulder. Clint was a good fighter, but his specialty was his sniper marksmanship.

Tony sighed. “Alright. Pym is going to figure we buried the cargo. Which means he’ll first try to get the location from us. He'll come at us from the east, he'll have the coin to show us first. We get it, give the location.” He grimaced. “Clint, we think that Pym’s probably got a sniper there.” He pointed at a cliff not too far away.

Clint squinted at the location and the surrounding area and nodded. “That’s where I would set up camp. You think they're in place yet?”

“Should be. Feel like taking a walk around the park?”

Clint nodded.

“Walk soft,” Tony said. “I want Pym thinking they're still in place. Don't kill anyone if you don't have to. We're here to make a deal.”

Clint took off, leaving Tony and Nat alone.

“I don't think it's a good spot, Tony,” Nat said, looking around. “He still has the advantage over us.”

“Everyone always does.” He smiled at her. “That's what makes us special.”

***

Bruce missed the abbey.

He wasn’t sure he’d made the right choice by stepping aboard _Serenity_. The crew was hiding something, this much was clear to him, though they didn’t seem to have bad intentions, necessarily. They were probably just trying to survive like many other people as well and if Bruce had to place a bet on their secret, he was almost sure it had to do with smuggling of some sort. It wasn’t uncommon for privately owned transport ships.

Then there was the whole situation surrounding Ben Parker and his nephew, which was difficult at best. On one hand, the boy was clearly traumatized. Something bad had happened to him. And Parker was only trying to get him to safety. On the other hand, Bruce felt like Parker hadn’t given them the whole story. If the government really was taking kids away from their families and torturing them in some sort of institution disguised as a school, Bruce thought that there would be a bigger outcry. Especially when it concerned core-bred children like Peter. If someone was hurting the elite’s offspring, why had he not heard about it before?

Then again, he had been out of the world for quite a while, living behind the walls of the abbey for several years, shielded from what was going on outside.

In the end, there wasn’t much he could do about this situation. Not at the moment.

So he did his best to support where he saw fit and since the Captain and two of his people were out to take care of some vague business and Rogers was up on the bridge, Bruce took it upon himself to get their prisoner a meal.

He balanced the tray with food carefully as he made his way to the passenger quarters. Shifting the tray to only one hand, he unlocked the door and pushed it open, saying, “Agent, I’ve got something to-”

A blinding pain exploded across the side of his head and he fell, the tray and food bowl clattering to the floor. Bruce turned, just to see Dobson raise his fist again.

When it hit him in the face, everything went dark.

* * *

1 Chinese, appr. meaning “shut up”


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Pym approached them from east, just like Tony had assumed, riding at the front of a small group of his men, all of them carrying guns and rifles, though nobody was pointing them at Tony and Nat just yet. All of them looked as harsh and ragged as the land they lived on. Out here on the rim, nobody wore the clothes that the inhabitants of the core planets had access to if they could pay. Tony thought of Parker in his fancy suit and he knew that Pepper was right: he wouldn’t be able to fit in on this world.

One man followed behind the small group, driving a mule over the uneven, dusty ground. Pym was definitely prepared to take the goods with him.

Pym stopped his horse, pushing his hat out of his face and smiled at them grimly. “Tony! How are you doing, boy?”

Tony forced a smile back, relaxing his shoulders. “Walking and talking.”

Pym squinted at Nat. “Is that Romanoff? Are you still sailing with this old bum?”

Nat didn’t answer his question, instead stating, “Awful lot of men to haul two crates.” Her blue eyes were narrowed in suspicion, her hand resting on the handle of her gun.

Pym snorted a laugh. “Yeah, well, I couldn't be sure my Tony here wouldn't be looking for some kind of payback.” He scratched his beard and shrugged one shoulder. “You understand?”

Tony clenched his jaw. “We're here for a job, Hank. Not interested in surprises.”

His comm unit buzzed to life in his ear and Clint’s voice filtered through. _“Got the sniper. You’re all clear.”_

Pym looked around pointedly. “I don't see my cargo anywhere.”

“And you're not going to, until I'm holding two hundred in platinum.”

Pym huffed a laugh. “Oh, come on, Tony. I'm supposed to take it on faith you've got the goods?”

Tony pulled the foodstuff bar Clint had handed him from his coat pocket and threw it to Pym, who caught it expertly. He peeled the gold foil back and bit off a small piece of the nourishment, nodding in appreciation.

“It's pure, Hank,” Tony said. “Genuine A-grade foodstuff. Protein, vitamins, immunization supplements. One of those'll feed a family for a month. Longer, if they don't like their kids too much.”

Pym chewed. “Yeah, that's the stuff.” He pulled a small satchel from his belt and threw it towards Tony.

***

Shuri startled out of a doze when Peter suddenly gasped and sat up, his dark eyes wide in his pale face, looking around in fear. “No,” he whimpered. “No, no. Danger.”

Shuri sat up a little, trying to get his attention while he stumbled off his gurney. “What’s wrong?”

Peter didn’t answer, whispering something she couldn’t understand as he moved towards the door … just to be grabbed by Dobson, who pressed Peter’s back to his chest and a gun against his temple. Shuri gasped, aware that the intercom button was too far away for her to reach easily. Peter squirmed and whimpered, but Dobson just tightened his hold. “Time to go home.” He grinned at Shuri. “I'm sorry about what happened before. But make so much as a sound,” he pointed the gun away from Peter and at Shuri’s chest, “and the next one goes through your throat.” With that, he stepped away from the door, pulling Peter with him.

***

“Then,” Tony continued his explanation, “east half a mile, bottom of the first hill. You'll see where it's been dug.”

Pym nodded. “I reckon I will.”

“Well then,” Tony said, tucking the satchel with their pay into the pocket of his coat.

Pym shifted on his horse, sitting up a little straighter. “Yep.”

A tense silence descended as nobody moved. Tony cleared his throat. “I'd appreciate if you’d turn around and ride out first.”

A slow smile spread over Pym’s face. “Well, you see, there's a kind of hitch.”

Tony tensed and he could see Nat clenching her jaw, her grip around her gun tightening. He shook his head at her and looked at Pym. “Both made out on this deal. Don't complicate things.”

“I got a rule,” Pym said. “I always get the most out of a deal. Which is maybe why I'm running this little world and you're still on that dinky old boat, sniffing for scraps.”

Tony sighed heavily. “What do you want?”

“You know what I want.”

***

Steve looked up at Parker, who was standing next to him with crossed arms, staring out the window at Whitefall, not looking overly impressed with his potential future home. Steve cleared his throat. “You should think about asking Tony to drop you somewhere else. Whitefall isn't exactly civilization in the strictest sense.”

“You don't have to worry about me,” Parker said, distracted. He seemed deep in thought.

Steve was just about to suggest that he would speak to Tony for Parker, when he was interrupted by the harsh buzz of the intercom and then Shuri’s breathless voice. _“He took him. Mr. Dobson took Peter.”_

Steve exchanged an alarmed look with Parker, who turned and ran out of the room. Steve moved to follow but was stopped by a proximity alert. He halted to look at the screen … and froze in horror. “Oh, no. Don't you dare.”

***

Tony scoffed in disbelief and shook his head. “No. I told you before and I will tell you again, I can’t get you the designs, Hank.”

Pym huffed a breath. “Don’t be like that, kid.”

“I can’t get them, Hank. It’s been a long time since I accessed the premises and I’m not planning on doing it again any time soon.”

Pym nodded slowly. “I would pay very well.”

“I don’t care,” Tony answered. “Get someone else to do it.”

“You know the premises are locked down tight, Tony,” Pym answered, irritation creeping into his voice.

“What makes you think I could get in then?”

“Because it is _your company_!”

“It’s not,” Tony said, “not anymore.” He took a deep breath and stared at the dusty ground for a long moment, then he looked at Pym earnestly. “I know my father took the designs from you. Believe me, I do. But there’s nothing I can do to help you.”

_“Tony,”_ Steve’s voice sounded out of his comm unit, alarmed and tense. _“Tony, it’s the Reavers. They followed us, closing in on your position!”_

Tony’s eyes widened and he exchanged a quick glance with Nat, who had heard the message through her own earpiece. “Clint,” he said.

_“I’m on my way,”_ Clint answered.

Tony looked at Pym. “Hank,” he said. “Listen to me, we’ve got incoming Reavers.”

Pym’s eyes widened and his men exchanged alarmed glances. “You serious?”

“Yes. Get back to your town, into the bunkers, now!”

Pym didn’t think twice, turning his horse around and riding off back towards the village, his men following close behind. Tony and Nat started to run towards where _Serenity_ was parked. Tony saw Clint stumble down a hill towards them to join and slowed his steps a little. “Steve,” he said into the comm unit. “How close?”

_“We have to be in the air in one minute if we wanna make it.”_ There was a pause. _“And, Tony, Dobson is on the loose.”_

“What?” Tony asked in disbelief, jumping over a large rock. “How did he get out?”

_“No idea. But he’s going after the kid.”_

***

Pepper hurried out of her shuttle when she heard a gunshot go off, and looked down into the cargo bay. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Dobson holding Peter in front of him like a human shield as he inched back towards the open cargo door. Parker appeared in her line of sight, pointing a gun at him. She heard a groan and turned to find Banner stumble towards her, one of his eyes bruised and his lip bleeding. Pepper quickly reached out to support him. “Oh, my God! What happened?”

“Peter,” Banner whispered, grabbing the railing to look down into the cargo bay.

Parker’s voice shook with nerves as he yelled, “Don't move! Let him go!”

The intercom crackled, Steve’s voice sounding through the ship, _“Guys, we have Reavers incoming and headed straight for us. We are in the air in one minute.”_

Banner stared at her with wide eyes. Pepper tightened her hands around the rail of the walkway. Parker didn’t react to Steve’s words, his eyes firmly on Dobson and his hand securely holding the gun as if he knew what he was doing. Dobson’s eyes were narrowed, his grip around Peter’s neck tight while he slowly moved down the ramp. Pepper had no idea what his plan was. If he left the ship, chances were that the Reavers would get him and Peter within seconds. There was nothing to gain for him. He was staring at Parker darkly, a deep frown cut into his forehead. “You gonna do that?” he asked. “You gonna kill an agent in cold blood? I could have helped you.” He shook his head. “I could have …”

A gunshot sounded, loud and sudden, and Dobson fell backwards, leaving Peter standing on the ramp, huddled into himself and gasping for breath. It took Pepper a moment to understand what had happened, to see the puddle of blood form under Dobson’s head, to watch Parker calmly lower the gun he’d fired.

Banner gasped. Pepper could relate. For a doctor, Parker had surprisingly good aim.

The stillness was broken by Peter crying out and jumping back from the body as if he’d only now understood what had happened and Parker quickly moving towards him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder to guide him away. Peter tried to squirm out of the gentle hold and Parker started to murmur to him reassuringly. He looked up and froze when he saw Pepper and Banner. “I had no choice,” he said.

Tony, Nat and Clint’s heavy boots thumped up the cargo ramp. They stopped at the sight of Dobson’s body.

“What the hell?” Tony asked.

Parker looked at him. “He was going to take Peter.”

Tony’s eyes looked up, finding Pepper’s as if looking for confirmation. She nodded.

Nat asked, “How did he get out?”

“Can we clarify that later?” Clint replied tersely.

“Right,” Tony answered, bending down to grab Dobson’s wrists while Clint took his feet. They carried the body down the ramp and left him outside.

“Steve, we’re all here!” Nat spoke into the intercom and pushed the button to close the cargo door.

***

Steve didn’t hesitate even one second longer, _Serenity’s_ engine whining in protest as he forced her to take off at record speed. He heard steps coming up behind him and then saw Tony, Nat and Clint in his periphery.

“How close are they?” Tony asked.

“About twenty seconds from spitting distance.”

Clint cursed. “Lose them!”

Steve bit his lip to keep from snapping back at him, instead focusing on steering _Serenity_ through the ragged mountain range without crashing. He knew that leaving the moon right now would make them more vulnerable, so he remained low, using the landscape to try and gain a head start. Tony punched a button on the console, staring at the video feed that the camera at the rear of the ship showed. The Reaver ship was close and getting closer. Nat’s hand grabbed Steve’s shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. “Ai ya, women wanle1,” she said.

Steve nodded and veered hard to the left, trying to gain a bit of distance and giving a small smirk when he succeeded. But the Reavers caught up again quickly. They weren’t even interested in the small villages dotting the landscape below, firmly focused on capturing _Serenity_.

It was probably more fun.

There was no way they could match the Reaver ship’s speed – not like this. Steve had an idea, it was risky, but the alternative was death. “I need Shuri in the engine room, please.”

“Can she even-” Nat asked but Tony interrupted her. “Clint, get her in there. Now.”

Clint’s quick steps echoed down the corridor as he ran towards the infirmary.

“Tony?” Pepper’s voice asked from the door.

He didn’t turn in her direction as he answered, “Ambassador, I want you to get in your shuttle. Get the civilians, be ready to go.”

“We can't just leave you here!”

“Thought that was the plan anyway.”

Pepper huffed a sigh. “Tony, don't do this-”

“We get boarded, you take off, head for town. We might be able to stop them from following.”

“They'll _kill_ you.”

“Pepper!”

There was a moment of silence and Steve could imagine the looks being exchanged between the two. Then he heard Pepper leave.

***

Shuri put her arms around Clint’s neck as he lifted her off the gurney, being careful to avoid jostling her injury. Peter was whimpering softly, huddled into a corner with his back turned towards all of them and his shoulders pulled up protectively, while Ben was handing Bruce a cooling pack for his face.

“This okay?” Clint asked and Shuri nodded quickly.

As he turned to leave, Pepper appeared in the door, looking at Ben, Peter and Bruce. “You three. Come with me.”

Bruce shook his head, pressing the cooling pack against his bruised eye. “I think I can help Shuri out.”

Pepper nodded and headed for her shuttle with Ben in tow, who was pulling a reluctant Peter along. Clint made his way into the engine room, stumbling a couple of times because the ship jerked to the left and right, Steve flying evasive maneuvers. Shuri breathed a sigh of relief when Clint set her down by the door of the engine room and she was able to press her back against the wall and stabilize herself.

The intercom crackled and Steve asked, _“Shuri, how are we doing? I’ll need a little push here.”_

She nodded and reached one hand up to press the intercom button. “You want me to go for full burn?”

_“Not just yet, but set it up.”_

There was no way she would be able to get up and do it herself, but Bruce and Clint were standing there, looking at her for instructions. Shuri picked Bruce. “You know where the press regulator is?”

He looked around, then pointed at a panel at the backwall.

Shuri smiled. “Head of the class.” A jab of pain hit her stomach and she coughed, groaning softly.

“You okay?” Clint asked.

She nodded and pressed the intercom button. “We're ready for full burn on your mark, Steve.”

Bruce grimaced. “Full burn in atmo? That won't cause a blowback? Burn us out?”

“Possible,” Shuri answered.

Clint was frowning. “But even if it doesn't, they can push just as hard, keep right on us,” he said. “This isn’t a good plan.”

Shuri smiled, knowing exactly what Steve was going for. “It’s not the entire plan.”

As if he’d been waiting for his cue, Steve asked, _“Shuri, how would you feel about pulling a Crazy Ivan?”_

She grinned widely, pressing the button. “Always wanted to try one.” She looked at Clint. “Open the port jet control. Cut the hydraulics.”

Clint looked around in confusion. “Where the hell is-”

“Look. Look!” Shuri rolled her eyes as he ignored her. “Look where I'm pointing, Clint.”

He did and found the panel nestled into the floor. He opened the lid … and balked at the mess of cables inside. He looked at her in confusion.

“Okay,” Shuri said. “Now it's real simple.”

“You say,” Clint muttered.

***

Nat grimaced when she saw the magnetic grappler extend from the Reaver ship, ready to latch onto them. “They’re done chasing us.”

Steve pushed the intercom. “Shuri?”

The Reavers pushed faster and Nat saw Steve wince as the distance between them lessened more and more. He was forced to fly even faster, narrowly avoiding a crash with the mountains several times.

Tony was staring at the camera as well. “C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon.”

Then, Shuri’s voice came in. _“Okay.”_

“Everybody hold on to something,” Steve said into the intercom and quirked a smile, “Here's something they can't do.” He flipped a switch and then slammed down the breaks. They lost speed immediately and dramatically, their jet engines screaming in protest as they were forced to turn around after a full speed flight. Nat held onto the back of the pilot seat, bracing her feet on the floor. Steve pushed the lever for acceleration as soon as the jets were ready and suddenly, they were heading directly _at_ the Reavers, closer and closer until … Steve opened the intercom. “Now!”

The whole ship lurched as _Serenity_ tilted upwards and past the Reaver ship, arching up into the atmosphere and space at breakneck speed, faster and faster, indicators lighting up in warning, several sensors wailing in protest as Steve and Shuri pushed the ship to its very limit and beyond … and out of sensor range of the Reavers.

Only then did Steve slow down, heading for a nearby moon to hide behind. The Reavers wouldn’t spend time looking for them, they only chased what they could see.

They breathed a collective sigh of relief, then Tony’s hand clapped on Steve’s shoulder. “Knew I hired you for something.”

Steve smiled.

***

Nat had her guns and knives spread out on the low table that was placed in front of the couch in the corner of the dining area, methodically cleaning every item. It helped her to calm down after such a close call. She’d taken a quick shower, her hair still a little wet and curling where it fell on her shoulders. She looked up as Banner shuffled in and towards the kitchen. He looked a bit shaky and pale, probably not quite recovered yet from their little adventure.

When he noticed her, he stopped short, his eyes widening when he saw her collection. “Sorry, am I disturbing you?”

She shook her head, brushing a strand of hair behind her ears. “It’s a common area. You’re free to come and go.” She put her gun back together, the metal clicking in the silence.

Banner watched her for a moment, then he hesitantly asked, “Is this what life is, out here?”

She reckoned that he wanted an honest answer. “Sometimes.”

Banner grimaced. “I've been out of the abbey for two days. In that time, I’ve fallen in with criminals, I watched someone shoot a man.” He hesitated. “And I don’t even think it was wrong.”

Nat looked at him carefully, not sure what to say.

Banner shook his head, giving a helpless smile. “I believe I just ... I think I'm on the wrong ship.”

“I thought that, too, once,” she answered. “But maybe you're exactly where you ought to be.” She smiled. “At least that’s how it turned out for me.”

***

“I hate to say it,” Clint murmured while him and Tony made their way to their bunks, “but the boy could become a problem.” Tony looked at him quizzically and Clint added, “The agent said they'd keep looking for him. Something about him being valuable. Worth a lot of money. The sooner we get rid of them, the better.”

“I suppose so,” Tony answered, stopping outside the hatch leading down into his room. Clint turned to go climb down the ladder to his own bunk, but Tony wasn’t quite done yet. “Funny how the agent got out of his room. You having tied him up so well after you brought him his meal and all.”

Clint stared at him, his eyes widening when he understood the implication Tony was making. “I didn't have nothing to do with that.”

“Didn’t you?”

“No!”

“But he _did_ try to make a deal with you, right?” He looked right at Clint, his eyebrows furrowed. “How come you didn't turn on me, Clint?”

Clint shifted uncomfortably, huffing a breath. “I wouldn’t, not for any kind of money.”

“Did he offer that? Money?”

Clint ducked his head. “I thought about doing it, Tony, but I didn’t. Let that count for something.”

With that, he left, climbing down into his bunk and closing the hatch. Tony sighed deeply and shook his head, taking the ladder into his room.

He took off his coat and threw it on the bed before shrugging out of the suspenders and untucking his shirt. He yelped in surprise when he turned and caught a pair of big brown eyes staring at him from the small space underneath his sink. “Kid,” he gasped. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”

Peter curled up tighter. His hands were folded against his chest, his knees drawn up to make himself as small as possible.

“What are you doing?” Tony asked. “You can’t just come into my room. I’ve got guns and knives down here. Wouldn’t want you to have an accident.”

“Hiding,” Peter muttered, staring at the wall. “Red hands. Dead face.” He squeezed his eyes shut and unfolded his hands, curling one into a fist that he hit against his forehead several times before Tony couldn’t watch anymore.

“Hey,” he said, crouching down by him and grabbing his wrist. “Stop that.”

Peter froze, staring at Tony’s fingers around his wrist. Then he slowly tilted his head to look at his face.

“You okay?” Tony asked.

Peter raised a hand and pressed his palm against Tony’s cheek. Tears were welling in his eyes. “Real,” he whispered.

“Yeah,” Tony answered. He swallowed, feeling a knot form in his throat at the heartbroken look on Peter’s face. “I’m real.”

“Peter?!” Parker’s worried voice drifted down into the room.

The kid flinched and withdrew his hand, curling into himself again.

Tony sighed and called out, “Down here.”

A moment later, Parker was hastily climbing down the ladder. “Peter,” he said when he saw him. “You can’t run off like that. I was so worried.” He crouched down next to him and put an arm around Peter’s shoulders.

“Red hands,” Peter whispered, tense and miserable.

“No, it’s me, Peter. It’s Ben.”

It took a moment, but finally, Peter leaned into him, though he remained curled up and tense.

“I’m sorry,” Parker said, looking up at Tony. “It won’t happen again.”

“See to it,” Tony answered and then made a decision he’d been thinking about the better part of the day. “You’re going to stay a while, so you’ll better make sure the kid doesn’t go where he isn’t supposed to.”

Parker looked up at him in surprise. “I thought you wanted to leave us the first chance you get.”

Tony tucked his hands into his pockets. “There are places you might be safe. You're probably safer on the move, though.” He shrugged. “And we never stop moving.”

Parker frowned. “I'm confused.”

“It may have become apparent to you that the ship could use a medic. You aren’t weak. I don't know how bright you are, Mr. Top-Three-Percent, but you aren’t weak and that's not nothing. Plus, I’m told you’re one hell of a shot.”

Parker huffed a laugh.

“You live by my rule, you keep your nephew from doing anything crazy, you could maybe find a place here.” Tony shrugged. “Until you find a better one.”

Parker nodded slowly. “I'm trying to put this as delicately as I can ... how do I know you won't kill me in my sleep?”

“You don't know me,” Tony said. “So let me explain this to you once: If I ever kill you, you'll be awake, you'll be facing me, and you'll be armed.”

Parker smiled. “Are you always this sentimental?”

“Had a good day.”

“You had SHIELD on you, criminals and savages ... and you’re harboring known fugitives.”

Tony shrugged. “We're still flying.”

“That's not much.”

“It's enough.”

***

To Peter, the world was always out of focus these days.

His limbs were heavy, his thoughts even heavier. He knew now that he wasn’t in the bright place anymore, wasn’t caught in a dream about a ship and a crew and a man that seemed weirdly familiar. It was all real.

But he hadn’t escaped.

He wasn’t in the bright place anymore but he was still a prisoner because _he_ was still there. Ben … or Not-Ben. Not-Really-Ben. Or was he? Peter was confused.

“It’s time for your shot,” Maybe-Ben said, sitting on the edge of Peter’s bed. “Can’t have you running around again, causing trouble.” He gave Peter an indulgent smile.

_Peter knew that smile. It wasn’t a Ben-smile. He knew it, though. It was …_

“Plus, if we’re staying for a while, I need to make sure that our secret remains a secret.” Not-Ben tried to take Peter’s arm, but Peter moved it out of the way clumsily, just for him to grab Peter’s wrist and pin his arm to the mattress. “Be a good boy, Peter,” he said.

_Dr. Beck._

The drug felt cold in his veins, the heavy confusion it brought with it settling over him like a haze.

“It’s only for a little while,” Dr. Beck said. “Just until I know where we can head next.” His hand cupped Peter’s cheek. “I’m not going to let them get you. They’re not allowed to take you. You are my creation. My masterpiece.” He smiled. “They shouldn’t have tried to take you from me.”

The haze grew heavier, Peter’s lids drooping as he fought against sleep. His thoughts went back to the bright place, the doctors and nurses … the pain.

“Sending an amateur to try and take me in,” Dr. Beck said. “He believed me when I told him that he could take you in return for my escape. He actually thought I’d let him take you.” He chuckled. “Well, it gave me a reason to deal with him once and for all. I couldn’t risk him spilling my real name to the crew.” His expression became sad for a moment. “I’m sorry I had to let him take you, but I needed the crew to see that I killed him because I had to. And now, they are starting to trust me.”

Peter felt nauseous and groaned.

“Everything is okay now,” Dr. Beck said. “We’re safe.”

“Dr. Beck,” Peter whispered, looking at him in confusion.

“No,” he said, shaking his head with a gentle smile. “Remember, Peter, I’m your uncle Ben.”

Peter frowned. Something wasn’t quite right about that. Something about his smile. “Ben?”

“Of course.” His smile widened.

And suddenly, Peter felt stupid, because how could he have ever doubted that this was Ben?

“Uncle Ben,” he whispered.

“Yeah, buddy.” He pulled the blanket up to Peter’s shoulders. “The shot I gave you will help you sleep.”

“I slept for so long.”

“Just a little while,” Ben answered.

Peter’s eyes closed, his thoughts flattening further. “I didn't think you'd come for me.”

Ben’s thumb stroked his cheek. “I will always come for you, Peter. Never forget that.”

* * *

1 Chinese, appr. meaning “We’re in big trouble”

END of Part 1

09/2020


End file.
